


Pass the Syrup, Please

by wishwars



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-13 01:44:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 48,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11749509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishwars/pseuds/wishwars
Summary: Mamoru runs into a now grown-up Odango Atama. Can he convince her to give him a second chance? Or are they doomed to be enemies for the rest of their lives?





	1. Chapter 1

Mamoru rubbed the bridge of his nose as he readjusted the paper in front of him. As much as he liked keeping up on what was happening in the world, it didn't always make for the best start to his day. In an effort not the massage his temples  _again,_  Mamoru distracted his hand by reaching for his coffee cup. He immediately regretted it.

While the hotel he was staying in was known throughout Tokyo for its comfort and hospitality, Mamoru would bet half his bank account (which was  _a lot_ ) that they weren't known for their coffee.

Swallowing down a grimace, Mamoru briefly glanced around at his fellow guests. Normally, he wouldn't have eaten the free breakfast provided by the hotel, simply starting his day with a cup of coffee on the go, but his morning meeting had been cancelled and he thought,  _why not?_

So far, the food and coffee had only increased his respect for his usual routine.

Every table in the small dining area was occupied, with a diverse group of families, adventure travelers, tourists, and businessmen and women like himself, looking either alert, bored, or incredibly tired. Mamoru noticed with amusement that the latter emotion was displayed mainly on the faces of the parents he could see.

With a small shake of his head, he decided to leave his fellow patrons to their mediocre breakfast and dove back into his newspaper.

He had just found a rather interesting article comparing the stock market of the US to that of China when he heard a small cough from behind his newspaper and a light voice saying, "Hello. May I join you?"

Looking up, Mamoru saw a quite pretty woman in a grey business suit leaning over the table next to his, addressing the elderly couple currently occupying two of its four seats.

He watched as they quickly assented and she smiled gratefully, taking a seat gracefully with a rather large plate of food. Her hair was the relatively rare shade of blonde (though if that was normal anywhere in Japan, it would have been in Tokyo) and she had it twisted up in a bun, with a few small wisps falling out around her face. Under her jacket, she wore a light pink blouse, that brought out the rosy hue of her cheeks and beautifully complimented her sparkling blue eyes. In other words, she was quite enchanting. And, somehow, oddly familiar.

With a jolt, Mamoru realized he was staring and quickly adjusted his newspaper so that he could continue to read while still stealing glances at her over the top. Unfortunately, he had already missed their introductions and, consequently, her name, but he found himself concentrating more on the soft lilt of her voice than the words in front of him.

"Are you staying here on business?" the elderly man asked.

Mamoru saw the young woman blush and felt himself become oddly warm in response, and this only increased when she gave a small laugh, like the tinkling of a bell. "Actually, I live here in Tokyo. I'm only here to meet with a consultant who our company brought in and put up here, but something came up and he's handling other business on the phone right now. And, well, the food just smelled so good…"

The elderly couple laughed in response, and even Mamoru felt himself smile, though he was doubting her taste a bit if she thought  _this_ food smelled good.

"I paid for it, of course!" She stuttered out with a small smile, obviously a bit embarrassed, but the elderly couple seemed to just find it endearing. Something Mamoru agreed with, even if he was now  _seriously_  questioning her judgment. He couldn't imagine anyone  _paying_  for this food.

"Actually," she continued, "I asked to sit here because I saw your sweatshirts."

Pushing his newspaper down briefly, Mamoru saw that both the man and woman were sporting University of Tokyo sweatshirts.

"Did you attend there?" she asked sweetly.

Mamoru chuckled a bit when he saw she had obviously hit upon a good subject as the man immediately leaned forward enthusiastically.

"We arrived in town earlier this week for our fifty-year reunion!"

His wife chuckled and placed her hand on his arm. "Once we were here, though, we just couldn't leave and thought we'd extend our stay to take in the sights and reminisce a bit."

"Oh that's wonderful!" the blonde exclaimed, and Mamoru was a bit surprised to see that she meant it. She was obviously what he would classify as a people person. Something he definitely was  _not_. Even his appearance right now, he realized, was rather off-putting. He had placed his briefcase on the seat next to him and spread his newspaper out so as to cover the entire table, perhaps subconsciously indicating he was not looking for company.

With a small twinge of disappointment, he wondered if perhaps the perky blonde would have sat with him if he had looked a bit more…approachable.

He didn't brood for long though, as he got caught up in the young woman's excited chatter once more. "Isn't the campus just beautiful? I'm a recent graduate myself." She exclaimed, smiling proudly.

Mamoru perked up a bit at this. He himself had considered attending Tokyo University, but had decided to study abroad at Harvard, originally with the intent of becoming a doctor. For some odd reason, though, he couldn't force himself to stay away from Japan long enough to consider this seriously, and decided not to continue his medical training back home, instead opting to pursue his interest in economics. Now he was a top executive at one of the most prestigious banks in Kyoto, though he was currently hoping to become the CEO of their Tokyo branch, the reason he was in the city now.

If this girl had attended the University of Tokyo, that meant she wasn't only beautiful, but intelligent. Mamoru's interest was definitely peeked. A little odd since he didn't often consider taking the time out of his schedule to date, but what was it Motoki was always telling him?  _Everyone should take the time to be happy._

Of course, he had always replied that his job made him happy, but he had heard that one should try new things. Maybe he should give dating another shot.

When he focused back on the conversation, he realized they had moved from discussion of the University to talking about the sights of the city itself. Though her suggestion wasn't quite what he would have expected…

"…and you must try his milkshakes. They are to  _die_  for!" the blonde was bubbling. "I haven't been to the arcade myself in a while, but my old friends and I are planning to have a little reunion there later this week! I can't wait to see everyone!"

"Well I must say, I've always been a fan of milkshakes." The older man chuckled.

The young woman nodded, "And I'm sure if you mention my name he'll give you a discount."

Mamoru shook his head. That sounded like something Motoki would do at the arcade he now owned. Even when he was only a worker there, he had always had a soft spot for certain costumers. For instance, Mamoru remembered him consistently giving free or discounted milkshakes to a certain young high school girl simply because, as he had told Mamoru then, he loved to see her smile. Mamoru snorted a bit in remembrance. Motoki had always been overly kind to her, treating her like an older brother would his kid sister. Mamoru, on the other hand, had loved seeing her angry. He couldn't remember much about their fights now, just that they had always been so darn hilarious. A brief respite from his otherwise rather hectic days spent studying.

And he had had a nickname for her, that much he knew for sure. Something having to do with her face, or perhaps her hair… what was it?  _What was her name?_  Mamoru wondered to himself, his eyes inexplicably drawn to the bright-eyed blonde who was just now putting away her cellphone and apologizing to her breakfast companions.

"It looks like he's done with his phone call now, so I'd better go, but it was so nice meeting you both!" She said, as she gathered up her trash from the table. Mamoru was surprised she had had the time to eat the enormous amount of food she had sat down with, especially with all her chatter, but her plate was completely clean.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Usagi-san." The woman said.

"Perhaps we'll meet you again before we leave." Her husband added.

The woman, Usagi, probably replied with something equally cheerful, but Mamoru couldn't concentrate on her words. No, now he was blatantly staring at the young woman he had, only a moment ago, found so completely alluring. Usagi. Usagi…Tsukino Usagi?  _She couldn't be –_ and yet so many things now fit into place. Her love of food, her affinity for the milkshakes made by a man at an arcade.  _But no, she doesn't even look like_  – but she did. Now he understood why she had seemed so familiar. Those same bright, blue eyes. That oh so similar tinkling laugh, brought down a bit and made more mature, but still as captivating as ever. Her smile, her cheeriness, her general aura of good-will. Her blonde hair, which Mamoru could now clearly see was the same beautiful shade as before, though no longer up in those… odangos.

Oh shit.

"Odango Atama?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The characters are pretty different here from the other story I'm writing – Mamoru is much more confrontational since they already know each other – so I'm trying not to make him too extreme one way or another. I hope this feels like how they would actually act! Let me know what you think :)

"Odango Atama?"

While Mamoru's exclamation had sounded loud to his own ears, it had come out as little more than a whisper and Usagi left her table without a glance in his direction.

As he watched Usagi walk away, Mamoru leaned back in his chair, his newspaper now completely forgotten.  _Well, this is an interesting development,_  he thought. Letting his eyes wander a little low he couldn't help but admit to himself that the Odango had grown up quite nicely.  _Speaking of a development_.

He snorted and shook his head. What was he thinking? He didn't usually act like a caveman, let alone  _think_ like one, even to himself. And here he was ogling some woman's backside and making rather disgusting comments to himself.

Not only that, but this was  _Usagi_. As soon as his mind had wrapped around who she was, all his old memories had come flooding back. This was the girl who couldn't walk two steps without face-planting, who consistently arrived late to school and got detention constantly, who entered the Crown arcade either bubbling over with excitement about something absolutely trivial or crying over her latest bad test grade. How could this girl and the beautiful, elegant, intelligent woman he had just seen be one and the same?

_Whelp,_  he thought to himself, rising from his chair,  _there's only one way to find out._

* * *

 

After charming the hotel manager into telling him that Usagi had gone up to one of the meeting rooms on the twenty-third floor, and having to tactfully take her business card in exchange, Mamoru decided to head up there himself.

Camping out in one of the armchairs of the small "library" across from the meeting room, Mamoru did his best to pass the time by flipping through the odd assortment of books the hotel had provided.

He was partway into an English  _Nancy Drew_ novel – Mamoru would never understand how women could run in heels, let alone chase criminals – when the door across from him opened to reveal Usagi, in all her radiance, leading a middle-aged man out of the room.

" – and I'll have one of my associates send over those documents to you this afternoon." She said, smiling brightly as the man shook her hand.

"Ms. Tsukino, it has been a pleasure."

Well that clinched it. He highly doubted there were any other Tsukino Usagis wandering around Tokyo with that hair.

As they began walking toward the elevator, he set down the book and picked up his briefcase, trailing after them at a careful distance. He couldn't help but smirk happily when the man pushed the up button while Usagi pushed the down.  _Perfect_.

He waited until Usagi had entered into her elevator before he rushed forward to catch the door.

She looked up in surprise as he pushed the doors open again and made his way inside. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize – "

Mamoru watched with an odd sense of satisfaction as she saw his face fully and stopped talking in confusion. He could almost track the dawning look of recognition and shock on her face, her mouth falling open into a comical 'o'.

"Why hello there, Odango." He drawled, in a way he hadn't remembered doing in years, "Fancy meeting you here."

* * *

 

There could be no doubt she brought out the worst in him, she always had. Motoki had constantly berated him for how he treated the girl, but he couldn't seem to stop. He would agree to stop teasing her, but only moments later she would trip through the sliding glass doors of the Crown and his tongue would unleash another insult before he could stop himself.

It was quite odd really. Before Usagi, he had barely interacted with other people at all, besides the conversations made necessary in school and daily life in general. And he had always considered himself to be a polite person. Maybe a little cynical and distant, but he had never gone out of his way to hurt another human being.

Not that he had hurt Usagi, of course. Not really. She had always given it as good as she got and, as much as he had hated to admit it, when he left for America a small part of him had missed running into her on a daily basis. Though maybe his body didn't miss the actually  _running into each other_  part. She had given him a fair number of bruises with her daily run to school that almost always left them both sprawled on the hard cement. Still, she had always made life interesting.

He had wondered, sometimes, what had become of his little Odango, but he never would have imagined, well,  _this_. Beautiful, graceful, and apparently capable of conducting a business meeting. Quite impressive really.

So why was he leaning against the side of an elevator with his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his lips as he watched, with growing amusement, her face alternately turning pale and a very familiar beet red?

Call it a nasty habit to break, but he just couldn't help himself.

"What? Cat got your tongue? Or are you just happy to see me?"

At that statement, he finally got a reaction and couldn't help his lips from breaking into a full-on grin as she let out an indignant squawk.

"Mamoru-baka, what in the heck are you doing here?"

"What?" he clutched his chest in mock pain, "No, how have you been?"

"As if." Usagi gave a very unladylike snort and leaned against the other side of the elevator in disgust. "You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?!"

Mamoru grinned again – actually, he found it quite hard to  _stop_  grinning in her presence. "I do believe I am riding down to the first floor."

Usagi rolled her eyes. "I see you're just as incorrigible as always, Baka. I meant in Tokyo."

"And I see your vocabulary has improved. Been practicing your flashcards, Odango?"

Usagi stood upright and huffed, looking about ready to stomp her foot; a gesture Mamoru remembered very well. "My name is Usagi! For god's sakes, I haven't worn my hair like that in years!"

Mamoru chuckled and, before he quite realized what he was doing, found himself moving forward until his toes touched hers and his face hovered just over her own, his breath tickling her eyelashes. She smelled like lavender. "Yes, but you'll always be my little Odango," he murmured, reaching one hand up to finger a small wisp of hair that had fallen across her face.

For one brief moment their eyes were locked – hers wide open in shock, so impossibly blue he almost felt like he was falling – and then the elevator dinged to signal their arrival on the first floor, and Usagi stumbled away from him, looking like a deer stuck in the headlights.

Mamoru himself was a bit surprised by his own actions, but tried to hide the hammering of his heart with a sardonic smile. He realized almost immediately that this was a mistake as he quickly saw the fear drain from her eyes only to be replaced by anger.

"I don't know why you're here, Baka," she exclaimed, shoving her foot in front of the elevator door to keep it open and jabbing her finger into her chest for emphasis, "but you just stay away from me. Okay?"

She pivoted quickly, then, and began walking briskly toward the entrance of the hotel, Mamoru following much more slowly behind, lost in his thoughts.

_What was that all about? I'm mean she's attractive, yes,_ he thought,  _but she's still_ Usagi _for god's sakes._ They had fallen so easily back into their old routine that it was almost a little frightening. It was like no time had passed at all and he was eighteen again. Well, except for maybe that last part. He had never tried to hit on her before.

Not that that's what he had done,  _of course._ He had simply...what had he done? Or more importantly, what had he been  _trying_ to do? They had never hesitated to take up each other's personal space before – half the time she had tripped she had ended up sprawled on top of him, and when they had argued, they had often ended up face to face. Still, this had felt a little...different.

He hadn't felt so out of control since, well since he left Japan. Since he left Usagi.

He was seriously considering calling her back to apologize – it was the  _adult_  thing to do, and dammit if he wouldn't prove to himself that he was past all this childishness – when he watched as Usagi tripped on the edge of a rug, fell into a bellhop, and would have taken them both down if she hadn't managed to grab onto one of the luggage trollies at the last minute.

It was too much for Mamoru and the very small amount of self-control he had around Usagi, if he had any. So he began loudly guffawing as she struggled to a standing position, straightened her skirt, and did her best to look dignified.

"Geez, Odango, you should start wearing a hazard sign around your neck!" he howled, between laughs, but these quickly subsided when he saw her face. Were those...tears?

"Shut up, Mamoru." She whispered, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Why can't you – after all this time – just leave me alone!"

He then watched in shock as she all but fled from the building. He flinched away a bit from the glares he was receiving from some of the other patrons and hotel staff, but they had to get in line if they wanted to make him feel guilty. Because right now he was feeling like a serious ass.

"Jesus, Usagi, I didn't mean it like that!" He muttered to himself, only to realize that he  _had_. He had  _meant_  to insult her because that's just what they did. That's all he had ever been able to _do_  around her. It was like all thought just left his brain and he could only act like a very stupid, very hormonal teenager. And suddenly, he realized he wanted more than that. Sure, teasing her had been fun, but they were  _adults_ now. The least he could do was apologize and see if she wanted to be friends.

_Yes_ , he thought to himself, _that could work._

Then, like a lightbulb, he remembered something Usagi had said to that elderly couple at breakfast. Something about a reunion.

Mamoru left the hotel whistling. It was time to go see Motoki.


	3. Chapter 3

Usagi fumed.

The normally happy, friendly blonde was walking down the street as if on a warpath, leading men, women, and children to jump out of her way in fear. Usually she was so much more aware, greeting everyone she saw with a smile, yet today even her friends may not have recognized her. But she didn't care.

The man who had taunted her, teased her to the point of tears on numerous occasions, belittled her existence any chance he got, was  _here_  in  _Tokyo_. Acting as if no time had passed and she was still the same stupid, klutzy, crybaby teenager she had been before. And the worst part was, as soon as he started treating her like that, it was like she suddenly was again! When was the last time she had been so tongue-tied? And her balance! She hadn't tripped over her own feet like that in-in years! At least not that badly… What, in the name of all that was holy, was that Baka doing back here? She thought he had left Tokyo for good. She thought she had finally been free!

A small part of her brain tried to remind her how disappointed she had been to learn he was moving to America, how much she had missed their daily fights, but she quickly squashed the voice into oblivion.  _Let's chalk it up to adolescent masochism. That's a thing right?_

Chiba Mamoru.

She just couldn't believe it.

But there he had been, looking at her with that same twisted grin that spoke of amusement and condescension. Well she was glad he found her so entertaining!

Damn his superior attitude. Damn his cocky smile. Damn his deep, sexy voice.

 _Wait,_  Usagi froze in the middle of the sidewalk as if struck dumb, ignoring the indignant mutters of the citizens who now had to move around her.  _Where did that come from?_

She shook her head to clear her mind and then continued walking, this time at a more reasonable pace.

 _Is Mamoru attractive? Well, of course he is,_ she thought rationally,  _Even I can admit_ that _, but that doesn't mean anything. So he looks like a he could be a model. So his voice makes my very bones vibrate. So what? That doesn't change the fact that he's a horrible, disgusting human being._

Usagi nodded resolutely, glad to have cleared that up. Imagine  _her_  finding that  _jerk_  attractive. She scoffed out loud, causing an elderly man to jump and drop his cane.  _As if_.

Having cleared that up, Usagi felt a lot better. After all, Tokyo was a huge city. What were the odds she would even see him again? The fact that she hadn't even heard about him in years meant there was a pretty good chance he was only visiting the city on business.  _Perfect_ , she thought, brushing off the small twang in her chest as heartburn.  _I'll be happy never to see him again._

At that moment, her phone rang – it was Minako.

"Hey, Minako-chan! What's up?" Usagi sang sweetly into the phone,  _very_ ready to turn her day around. It had started with so much promise.

"Hey girl! I just checked into my hotel!" Minako's voice rang out from the phone.

"What?" Usagi gasped, "But you told me you wouldn't be getting in until Friday!"

"I decided I didn't need that shampoo commercial. I mean, I've done how many of those before? It was just getting ridiculous."

Usagi smiled and rolled her eyes. "So, in other words, you didn't get the part."

"They decided they wanted a brunette instead," Minako moaned, "Which is ridiculous because I'm pretty sure the girl they picked had split-ends, Usagi.  _Split ends_."

Usagi muffled a giggle. "That's quite tragic."

"It was," Minako exclaimed dramatically, "It really was. Buuuuut" her voice quickly changed from morose to excited, "now this means we can go shopping and pick out some totally killer outfits that will have Rei crowing with jealousy!"

Usagi laughed, "I'd love to Mina-chan, but I have work!"

"Play hookey!"

"I can't," Usagi groaned, "I'm on my way back to the office right now so I can get some paperwork in order. I just had a meeting with an outside consultant and it went really well – "

"That's great!"

"Yeah, except that you won't  _believe_  who I ran into afterwards!"

Minako gasped, "Leonardo DiCaprio?"

"Ugh, I wish! No, this was _much_ worse."

"Well, don't leave me hanging!"

"Minako, do you remember Motoki's friend, that really annoying upper-classman, Chiba Mamoru?"

"You mean the dreamy, dark-haired hunk with killer eyes?"

Usagi gasped, "He was not dreamy!"

"Oh yes he was! Anyone with eyes could see that."

"But you never – I mean you never even _flirted_ with him or anything!" Minako not flirting with a boy she found attractive was like...well like something that never occurred!

"Well, it's not like he would have paid any attention anyways. He was always too busy flirting with you."

"What?" Usagi yelped, "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Oh please, Usagi-chan. He paid more attention to you than the rest of us combined." Minako stated, sounding rather bored.

"Yes, because he made  _fun_  of me constantly!"

Minako snorted, "Okay, so he flirted like a nine-year-old boy, give the guy a break!"

"It was not flirting!"

Minako sighed, "Usagi. Why are you so bent on denying this? Any other girl would have given their right arm to have Chiba Mamoru even  _talk_  to them."

"Yeah, well he didn't  _talk_  to me, did he? He teased me and-and made me feel awful about myself. I mean he was a total jerk! No girl would have wanted  _that._ "

"Oh c'mon, Usagi. Don't tell me you didn't think the guy was attractive."

"That has nothing to do with anything," Usagi sniffed, "He was horrible to me and that's all that matters."

"Horrible becaaaaause," Minako sing-songed, "He  _liked_ you. I mean couldn't you ever feel it? Underneath all those jokes and teases, couldn't you tell? I mean, sometimes even just the way he looked at you..."

Usagi wanted to roll her eyes and shrug this off, like she did most of the things Minako said, but she couldn't help but think back to when, not fifteen minutes ago, Mamoru had stepped close to her in the elevator and...and what? Usagi still wasn't quite sure what had happened, but she did know she had suddenly felt very,  _very_ uneasy. His breath on her skin had made her heart beat faster and her palms sweat. If anything, he had looked almost... _predatory_. Not that that was completely new. He had always unsettled her a bit and neither of them had ever been afraid of getting in the other's face. So why had it felt so different this time?

Perhaps it had been the shock – seeing him for the first time in almost ten years – or perhaps the fact that he looked older – filling out his suit in a way she had always imagined he would someday, his hair a little sleeker, his facial features just a bit sharper.

And his eyes. They had seemed darker, somehow.  _Hungrier_.

Minako made a noise like a shiver, "If we didn't know you hated him so much, we may have been worried about your virtue. Makoto wanted to sock him a good one anyway, of course..."

Usagi scoffed, and surreptitiously wiped her palms on her pencil skirt. "Whatever. I still say he wasn't flirting with me and wouldn't  _I_  know best? I mean I was the one on the other end of his attention every single day. BUT" she continued, cutting Minako off as she started to protest again, "we aren't talking about what happened then, we're talking about  _now_."

"Okay, well what happened _now_?"

"The exact same thing!"

"Oooookay?"

Usagi stomped her foot at the curb as she waited for the light to change. She could see her office building in the distance meaning she was only a block away now.

"Minako!" she whined, "He treated me  _exactly_  like he did when I was fourteen! He made fun of my intelligence, called me klutzy, and used that  _dreaded_  nickname he enjoyed so much!"

"The one Rei uses?"

"Yes! Damn her," Usagi muttered. "My hair hasn't looked like that since high school!"

Minako made a humming sound as if in agreement.

"Ugh, Minako-chan, it was  _awful_! He smirked, he-he teased me, he called me his little Odango – "

"He what?!"

" – I mean yes I'm small but that doesn't mean he needs to point it out!"

"But, Usagi, he said – "

"And as if that wasn't enough, he made me trip! It was  _so_  embarrassing. I mean I can't believe the  _nerve_ of him to come in and act like I'm the exact same klutzy, crybaby I was before. And then I  _did_ cry. Oh god, I'll never live that one down."

"Yes, Usagi, but – "

"And I had such a good meeting too – I could even get a  _raise_ it was so good – but he completely ruined  _that_ , of course."

"You know what, you're right!"

"Wait, what?" Usagi stuttered, confused at Minako's sudden change in attitude.

"Yes! I mean, how dare he see you after how long it's been and act like nothing has changed! He should have at least commented on how beautiful you are now!"

"Minako, I don't think – "

"And to see you for the first time in so long just to ruin your day! I mean, really!"

"Well…yeah." Usagi wasn't sure why, but suddenly having Minako argue her case had caused most of her frustration to drain away.

"Well," Minako huffed, "you know what this means right?"

Usagi opened her mouth thoughtfully, but came up blank.

"Retail therapy!" she squealed, excitedly.

"Oh, Minako," Usagi laughed, as she dug inside her bag for her ID, though the security guard waved her past as soon as she came inside.

"No, really! It'll be great. We'll get our nails done, talk about how stupid guys are, do a little shopping, and then get dinner!"

"Okay, okay. You win!"

"Really?" Usagi could picture Minako bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Yes," she smiled at a few of her coworkers as she made her way to her office, "I still need to finish up some paperwork after this meeting, but I think I can probably convince my boss to let me off a bit early, since my part of the job is pretty much done. But it probably won't be until closer to three."

"Perfect! I'll have my car pick you up at your apartment at three-thirty!"

Usagi thought about reminding Minako that she wasn't  _sure_ that she'd be done by then, but decided against it. She didn't want the other blonde coming into her office to find her. That could only end badly. "Alright, sounds good."

"Ciao!" Minako chirped.

"Ciao." Usagi giggled back, hanging up her phone and collapsing into her desk chair.

Maybe Minako was right. She just needed to sit back, relax, and pretend the Baka-incident never happened.

She nodded.  _I can do that_.

But first, she needed to do her paperwork.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had meant to have more happen in this chapter...but Minako and Usagi are just so damn talkative!  
> Review please! I'm thinking a conversation between Mamoru and Motoki might be in order. Yes?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning – Motoki and Mamoru ended up talking even more than Minako and Usagi, so I decided to split this scene into two chapters and this one is the shorter part.

Walking through the streets of Tokyo, Mamoru had felt a bit like an outsider, a tourist in the city he had grown up in, but when he walked through the doors of the Crown Arcade – greeted with the familiar rush of cold air and the smell of fried food – he felt oddly at peace, even surrounded as he now was by the screams of small children, the chatter of preteens, and the loud squeaks and whistles of the arcade games.  _This,_  Mamoru thought smiling, _is_ _what it must feel like to come home._

It had always struck him as strange that he had never really felt at home anywhere but here. His orphanage had not been home, that much he knew for sure, but even the apartment he had slept at and cooked in and generally  _lived_  in, in the years between the orphanage and America, had never felt like that to him. America had been an adventure, and while stepping off the plane back in Japan had given him the inevitable thrill of return, his apartment in Kyoto now felt much like his apartment in Tokyo had before – a place for him to rest and nothing more. No, this,  _this_  was home.

Mamoru smiled as he caught sight of a head of sandy blonde hair bouncing around behind the counter. With quick steps, he found his way to the stool he had always claimed as his own and schooled his expression into one of boredom. He remembered it being the one he had often sported at this very spot, unless he was conversing with Motoki or fighting with Usagi.

He watched as Motoki finished drying a glass and then yelled something about a hamburger into the kitchen area, fighting a grin.  _This was going to be good_.

Motoki whirled around then, whipping out his small notebook and pen as he did so, "And what can I get for – " Mamoru couldn't stop the grin anymore as he watched Motoki's eyes widen in surprise. " _you?_ "

Mamoru placed his chin in his hand, chuckling as Motoki gaped at him like a fish. "Be careful, Toki, or you'll use up all your customers' oxygen."

At that, Motoki broke into a huge smile, reaching across the counter to clap Mamoru on the back, "What the heck are you doing here? Mr. Executive Big Shot" he grinned slyly, "gracing  _my_ small establishment with his presence." He placed his hand over his heart and swayed, "Whatever did I do to deserve such an honor?"

Mamoru laughed, "Oh can it, Motoki. Can't a guy want to visit an old friend?"

Motoki chuckled as well and then shook his head, bemusedly. "I just can't believe you're here! What has it been? Almost – "

"Ten years," Mamoru finished, nodding. He and Motoki had kept in touch, of course, even occasionally met up – but it felt different seeing him  _here_ , where they had so often chatted about work, school, and life in general. Motoki had been the first friend Mamoru had ever really had and, seeing him now, Mamoru felt a twinge of regret that it had taken him this long to come visit. Early on, part of him had wanted to return to the Crown so badly he had ached a bit, but another, larger part had been scared that in coming back he would find everything changed, and the happy memories he had treasured for so long would cease to feel real. Then, as time passed, Mamoru just couldn't justify wanting to visit a childish arcade when he had so much work to do, and so he never did. Until now.

Motoki grinned, "Well I'm glad you're here. How have you been? What are you up to?"

They quickly fell into their normal pattern of companionship, talking easily about life and business. Mamoru had known for a while that Motoki had gained ownership of the Crown. Part of him had been a little surprised – there had been a time when Motoki had talked about going to grad school and becoming a teacher or heading to med school to become a pediatrician, but Mamoru, too, had not exactly followed his own dreams, so he couldn't really blame his friend. And besides, every time they talked Motoki always seemed so…happy.

When Mamoru finished filling him in on his own business and his reason for being in Tokyo, Motoki whistled, "CEO? That would be awesome! And you'd live here again?"

Mamoru nodded, sipping at the coffee his friend had offered him not long after their greeting. "I think I stand a pretty good chance to get the position, too. The meeting I had yesterday went really well and while they had to cancel a meeting today, I do have one more tomorrow. Then, I'll have to wait until Monday to know their decision."

"A whole weekend of waiting?" Motoki grimaced, "That sounds awful."

Mamoru shrugged, "Yeah, but what can you do? I thought I'd use the time to explore Tokyo a bit more. See what's changed."

Motoki grinned, "I'm sure you'll find plenty to keep you busy this weekend. Hey, if you want, you, me, and Reika can go out for brunch on Sunday or something!"

Mamoru nodded, "Sure. How is Reika?"

He raised his eyebrows when Motoki blushed. "What?"

"Well, it's just that, I hadn't had the chance to tell you yet..."

"Whaaat?" Mamoru asked, slowly and little worriedly. Normally Motoki couldn't stop gushing about his girlfriend. He'd never seen him so flustered.

"Well it only happened last week, and it's still so new..."

"Toki, just spit it out!"

"Reika and I are engaged!"

Mamoru's mouth dropped open, but then he quickly exchanged it for a grin. "What? Oh man, that's great!"

Motoki beamed. "Thanks! I just figured, you know, we'd been dating for a while and – "

"It was about time."

Motoki, smiled again and Mamoru chuckled. He was very happy for his friend and actually a bit surprised it had taken them this long. Though, come to think of it, Reika hadn't really finally settled in Tokyo until recently – her research taking her all over the place for a while. Motoki had never really minded, though, and somehow they had made it work. Mamoru felt a small twinge of envy, but then quickly brushed it off. If anyone deserved to be this happy, it was Motoki.

"And, of course, you'll be my best man." Motoki said, grabbing some baskets from a busboy and throwing out the trash.

At this, Mamoru's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Really?"

Motoki, looked at him surprised, and Mamoru tried to cover his shock. "I mean, of course I will, I just... I didn't think you'd want me to." He finished, mumbling a bit.

"Of course," Motoki smiled, leaning on the table, "You're my best friend." Then he turned away to give the dark haired man a moment to adjust. He had always known Mamoru wasn't great about expressing his feelings – sometimes acting cold and distant even to those he was closest to – and Motoki had always tried to be careful about displaying his own feelings too openly, worried it would make his friend uncomfortable. He had always thought Mamoru realized, though, just how much he meant to him. But maybe not.

When he turned back around, Mamoru had schooled his expression back into a nonchalant grin, though Motoki thought his eyes were shining just a little bit brighter.

"Well then it's settled," Mamoru said, "But I'm  _not_  hiring you a stripper for your bachelor party." He pointed his finger accusingly at Motoki, who held up his hands in a show of innocence.

"No way would I want one! Reika would kill me."

They both laughed at this and then Motoki began wiping down the counter as Mamoru nursed his coffee, a comfortable silence falling between them.

A few minutes later, however, the sound of the old  _Sailor V_  game starting quickly caused Mamoru's ears to perk up and, with a grin, he remembered part of the reason he was here.

"Actually, Motoki, you're not the first old friend I've seen since coming back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, I love Toki :) He knows Mamoru a lot better than Mamoru seems to know himself. And next time, we'll get to see just how much!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the other half! I'm sorry if some of you are hoping I'll earn my M rating faster. I always think build up is better, and what is sexual tension without a nice backstory? ;)

"Actually, Motoki, you're not the first old friend I've seen since coming back."

Motoki looked up, curious, "Really? Who'd you meet?"

"Well, I'm sure you remember the little, blonde whirlwind who used to come in here every day and – "

"Usa? You've seen Usagi-chan?" Motoki guffawed, "You've only been here a little over a day and you two have already run into each other? Oh man, I should have known."

Mamoru tried to ignore the small flare in his chest that came from hearing Motoki talk about her so familiarly and raised one eyebrow in confusion, "What does that mean?"

"It means you two have always acted like magnets," Motoki said, smirking, "I'm not at all surprised to hear that you've found each other again so quickly."

Mamoru rolled his eyes, "It was a chance meeting, Motoki. We didn't  _find_  each other."

"Okay," Motoki said, though Mamoru could tell from the way he was grinning that he wasn't convinced.

"Anyway, it seems that the Odango actually grew up." Mamoru said, carefully turning the conversation in the direction he desired it to go. Ever since he had seen Usagi at breakfast, even before he knew it was her, he had been curious. Finding out she was the girl he had once teased every day only made him want to know about her even more.

Motoki nodded, leaning on the counter. "Yeah, she's changed a lot since you last saw her."

"Do you know what she's up to?" Mamoru asked nonchalantly.  _Dammit, Motoki, please tell me you're as much a gossip as you used to be_.

"Oh sure!" Motoki said, standing up and resuming his cleaning, "Usagi-chan comes in here at least once a week to say hi and catch up."

Mamoru swallowed another spark of envy along with his coffee, trying to appear slightly interested as he listened avidly.

"I'm surprised you even recognized her, honestly. She's changed so much." Motoki said, looking up thoughtfully, "A little while after you left, she really started doing well in school – she took up Ami's offers of help and even had a couple other tutors in different subjects. Soon enough, though, she didn't need them. I don't think the issue was ever her brain, I just don't think she really applied herself, you know?"

Oh, he knew! People who had seen them together would have been surprised to hear, but Mamoru had never though Usagi was dumb – she was too quick for that. She wasn't even lazy, just unmotivated. He had thought about offering to tutor her a couple times – if anyone could get her to learn, he had thought proudly, it would be him – but he had always been worried that that would mean a change in their relationship. If he helped her do better in school, maybe she wouldn't come to the arcade as often or give him so many opportunities to tease her. And  _that_ wouldn't do at all!

"Anyway," Motoki continued, "with all her hard work, she ended up graduating top of her class – after a few other students – and even got accepted at the University of Tokyo. You should have seen her when she got her acceptance letter," Motoki chuckled bemusedly, not noticing Mamoru's knuckles tighten on his mug, "I've never seen her so excited. And proud. It was amazing really."

Another worker came by with some glasses and Motoki quickly began stacking them behind the counter. "She did well there. I actually didn't see her as much those four years – she mainly studied at the library. Can you believe it? Usagi-chan, in a  _library_!" Motoki grinned, "But she graduated with top scores again and quickly got hired at the company she works at now."

He paused thoughtfully, "I can never quite remember the title of her job, but I think she mainly works as a sort of liaison between her company and other groups they want to do business with. Go figure, she was always so good with people."

Mamoru nodded, "Do you know what she studied?"

"Communications and business, I think." Motoki shrugged, "Something like that anyway. But she's done really well for herself!"

Mamoru nodded silently, letting the facts settle in. It was a little hard to imagine Usagi studying and, well,  _excelling_  at school, or at least wanting to, but he had seen the results for himself and he couldn't deny it – she had changed. And yet...

"Actually," Motoki said, leaning on the counter thoughtfully, "I think your teasing may have helped motivate her."

Mamoru looked up, surprised. "What?"

"Yeah," Motoki grinned, slapping down his rag to start cleaning again, "In the beginning, she would sit at the counter, pouring over her books and I could sometimes hear her muttering stuff like 'If that baka could see me now.'"

Mamoru rolled his eyes as Motoki chuckled. "I will admit," Mamoru said, lifting his cup to his lips, "I was a bit surprised to see her acting so professionally and dressed so..." Mamoru tried to search for a word to describe her that wouldn't have Motoki chasing him out of the arcade.

"Nice?" Motoki supplied.

Mamoru nodded. That word would have to do, even if it did seem woefully inadequate.

"Like I said," Motoki said, winking, "She's changed a lot."

Mamoru tried not to snort. If he had known in high school that the Odango would turn out like  _that_ , he might not have stayed away for so long.

"So wait, you say you two saw each other? Where?"

"She had a meeting at the hotel I'm staying at."

Motoki nodded, and scrubbed at a spot on the counter. "So how did it go? I'm sure she was surprised to see you."

Mamoru did snort this time. "You could say that."

Motoki looked up and grinned. "And then I'm assuming she was doubly surprised when she realized what a gentleman you've become."

Mamoru looked down at his coffee and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm..."

Motoki gasped and took a step back, shaking his head. "You didn't. Please, for the love of god, tell me you didn't!"

Mamoru peeked up at his friend through the fringe of his hair and quirked a small grin.

Motoki groaned and slumped onto the counter. "You insulted her, didn't you?"

Mamoru was immediately defensive. "I didn't mean to! I just said, 'Fancy meeting you here, Odango' and then she blew up at me like – Ow!"

Mamoru held the back of his head where Motoki had just whipped him with his towel and glared at his friend. Motoki, in turn, looked back at him with a mixture of amusement and irritation.

"You can't call her that anymore, Mamoru! You know she always hated that nickname."

Mamoru shrugged, "What was I supposed to call her?"

"Maybe Usagi-san?" Motoki supplied in exasperation. "You haven't seen this girl in almost ten years and the first thing you do is remind her of how much of an ass you used to be."

Mamoru shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "I panicked."

Motoki stood with his hands on his hips and contemplated his best friend in front of him. At first, he had been confused by Mamoru's actions around Usagi. When they were younger, Mamoru had been even more reserved than he was now, so imagine Motoki's surprise when Mamoru ended up having a screaming match with the young, bubbly patron.  _Daily_. Pretty soon, though, Motoki realized that maybe there was more going on than Mamoru let on. Motoki had seen his friend around girls. He was as aloof as usual, but always polite – declining their invitations easily, if a bit coldly, never showing any of them the slightest bit of attention. But when Usagi entered the arcade, he became a completely different person. His eyes would sparkle and his lips often quirked up of their own accord, as if he couldn't stop himself. At first, Motoki had been worried he was witnessing bullying, but he soon realized Mamoru cared a lot more for the perky blonde than he let on. One minute, he was calm and collected, and the next he became like a man possessed – spitting out insults left and right until Usagi stormed away from them, leaving Mamoru with a silly grin plastered on his face.

Motoki had tried to confront Mamoru about his suspicions once – that Mamoru might actually  _like_  the girl he constantly insulted – but Mamoru had quickly and rather angrily denied the accusation, closing up and pushing Motoki away. After that, Motoki had watched their interactions in silence. But he had noticed the stolen glances, the flushed cheeks, and the oddly tense silences that riddled their arguments. He had known.

Part of him had wanted to interfere – to grab them by their collars and lock them in a closet until they confessed their feelings for each other – but he had decided against it. Mamoru's emotions – while it would kill his friend to hear him say so – were delicate. If he had tried to force Mamoru to accept his feelings for Usagi, he knew Mamoru would have pushed both of them away, so he had simply waited. Hoping that, someday, one of them would crack.

Then, Mamoru had moved away, and Motoki had watched sadly as Usagi pined away at the arcade counter every day, week after week. Until suddenly, she changed. The spark in her eye returned and Motoki watched in awe as she grew up right before his eyes.

And as he looked down at his friend's bowed head, he couldn't help but pity him. Usagi had had no reason to hope that Mamoru returned her feelings and may, indeed, have been in denial herself, but Mamoru – he probably couldn't even fathom the idea that he deserved love. And he did. But he was never going to get it if he acted like he had before.

Fate had given them another chance and, dammit, Motoki was not going to let it pass them by! He had to save this, and he had to save it  _fast_.

With a sigh, Motoki leaned against the counter, "Mamoru, you may not want to hear this, but you're never going to get Usagi if you insist on acting like you did when you were younger."

Mamoru jerked up, his eyes wide, " _Get_  Usagi?" he scoffed, his hands flailing a little bit too dramatically, "I don't want to  _get_  her. I don't want anything to do with her! I was just surprised that's all. I mean I haven't seen her in a while and she looks really – well really, different and I just, well – "

"Mamoru-kun," Motoki said, firmly cutting of his friend's babbling even as he carefully moved his  _breakable_  coffee mug to the other side of the counter and away from Mamoru's jerky movements. "I'm not an idiot and neither are you. I think we both know you've always wanted to  _get_  Usagi, if you'll let me say it like that."

He held up his hand as Mamoru tried to protest, "Don't speak, just listen to Uncle Toki and he'll take care of everything."

"In fact," Motoki continued, pointedly ignoring Mamoru's glare as he folded his rag neatly on top of the counter. "I'm going to do you a favor. You see, there's this little reunion going on here on Friday..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, denial. It's such a funny and frustrating thing. But never fear – Motoki to the rescue! What would Mamoru do without his sense and perception?  
> I'm not quite sure what will be in the next chapter, but don't worry! We'll see Usagi and Mamoru together again very soon. And I'm sure it will be...interesting.


	6. Chapter 6

Usagi hummed to herself as she walked down the street toward the Arcade. She had taken a cab most of the way, but then asked the driver stop early so she could get a small coffee and enjoy the air outside. Was there anything better than Tokyo in summer?

She beamed at a small group of children she passed and laughed as she watched two of them arguing over what they should do today. It felt like only yesterday since  _she_  had had those sorts of arguments with her friends. In fact, she  _still_ sometimes had them. She chuckled, remembering a recent argument with Rei over which night club they should attend with the girls. Rei wanted to go to a classy, upscale lounge sort of bar, but Usagi wanted to relive a little of her college days – dancing the night away with her closest friends. They still hadn't been able to agree, but Usagi had already won Minako onto her side, and she was sure she could get Makoto to agree with her as well. Ami wouldn't be too keen either way, but Usagi knew she'd enjoy it once they were there. As much as she refused to admit it, Ami liked going out – you just had to drag her there first.

Realizing she had started trotting toward the Crown, Usagi forced herself to slow down. She had plenty of time to spare before the girls would show up anyway. Still, she was very,  _very_ excited. While she and Rei, who now owned the Hikawa Shrine, were able to get together a lot, meeting up with the other girls had become increasingly difficult. Minako's modeling had taken her all over Japan, and even outside the country, and while her acting jobs were small, even they often kept her away from Tokyo. Makoto's restaurant lay in a trendy area of the city itself, but it was still so new that it was hard to convince her to spend a day, or even a night, away. And with Ami now starting her job at the Osaka University hospital, it was even harder to tear her away from her work then when she had been nearby. But now they would all be back together again and it would be just like old times!

Usagi smiled and allowed herself a little skip before she returned to the dainty walk she had perfected over the years to keep from tripping constantly. She had asked for this day off  _weeks_  ago – Minako had insisted that they start their weekend together early – and she was delighted that everyone had been able to work it into their schedules. Even Ami-chan had asked for time off. So today they were meeting at the Crown for lunch and milkshakes, then it was on to the chaos of shopping and dinner, before they headed out to – hopefully – show off their new outfits on the dance floor!

Minako had jumped at the idea of a dance club – "Oh Usagi, I haven't gone somewhere just to dance in so long!" – but she had been even more excited thinking about what they could wear – "We'll have to go for something shiny and bold, you know, to make a statement. Look out world, we're back!"

Usagi shook her head. Usagi had had to rein Minako in the other day when they went shopping – even though she was sure Minako had a full wardrobe of beautiful clothes back at her apartment, she still shopped like she never would again – but finally they had both ended up getting a nice, simple sundress.

Smiling down at herself, she resisted the urge to give another little twirl as she'd already done many times this morning. She had picked out a cute light blue dress that flared out around her with every turn she made and she had to admit, she missed wearing dresses like this. Once she was out of the University, she had had to start dressing more professionally, which usually meant suits or pencil skirts. This dress was a little too casual, but god did she feel pretty.

She had also decided to leave her hair down today, since she didn't usually get to do that either – especially after that one incident with the copier – and smiled happily as a slight breeze caused it to dance around her shoulders, brushing against her skirt. She had always been proud of her hair, no matter what  _some_  jerks may have –

_No, no_. She thought quickly, forcing herself to be calm,  _I am not going to let any thoughts like that ruin my day. Not today._

At that moment, she caught sight of the familiar sign for the Crown and, deciding not to the resist the urge any longer, broke into a happy run.

Today was going to be perfect.

* * *

 

Somehow, he sensed her before she even came through the door. Like an itch between his shoulder blades or a light caress down his spine.

Motoki was behind the counter, while Mamoru sat sipping another cup of coffee, carefully facing away from the windows, but both men heard the patter of running footsteps and then the woosh of the sliding doors.

"Motoki-onii-san!" she all but sang and Mamoru had to fight not to roll his eyes as Motoki greeted her just as enthusiastically.

"Usagi-chan, you're early!"

_How did I end up the fire-breathing dragon while Motoki gets to be the knight in shining armor?_  he thought, grouchily,  _It must have been all those free milkshakes…_

"I know, but I wanted to get here before everyone else, you know, just in case, and I just couldn't wait to – " Usagi bright babble stopped, and when she spoke next, she sounded murderous. "What is  _he_  doing here?"

_Whelp, that's my cue_ , he thought, turning around on his stool, a smirk already in place. Lucky for him his balance was good or he may have fallen right off. His smirk definitely took a small tumble. The girl in front of him looked a lot more like the young girl he remembered – all pretty skirts and flowing hair – but now she looked like, well, like a woman. Her hair was completely down and floating around her like a beautiful waterfall of liquid sunshine – even when they were younger she had never worn it like that – and he had the greatest urge to reach out and touch it. Her arms, which had been encased in a gray jacket before, were willowy yet toned, as were the legs that peeked from beneath her skirt and he wondered if her skin was as soft as it looked. Her dress was loose where her outfit previously had been restricting, but it still hinted at all the curves he knew she had, and the blue of its material brought out the sparkling color of her eyes, which were now narrowed at him in anger.

Anger? Oh right, she hated him. How could he forget?

Quickly pulling his smirk back into place Mamoru leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, "Did I hear you're early, Odango? That must be a first."

Mamoru wasn't sure whose glare burned more – Usagi's or Motoki's.  _Right, right – be polite. Got it._  He thought, already mentally kicking himself for forgetting Motoki's instructions. Why did he always forget everything as soon as Usagi walked into the room?

Before Usagi could retort, however, Motoki placed himself between them. "I think you'd be surprised by Usagi's punctuality, Mamoru. She's not a little girl anymore." He said pointedly, making Mamoru blush and rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Usagi watched this exchange smugly, though her look of triumph quickly disappeared when Motoki rounded on her. "And Mamoru is here because he is my friend and he is visiting me, Usagi. You know his friendship is important to me."

Mamoru watched in fascination as Usagi also blushed and then bowed her head in shame, one toe digging against the floor. "I know, Motoki, I'm sorry."

Motoki glanced between his two, now guilty, close friends for another moment and then sighed. Why did they have to make everything so difficult?

"So can I get you anything while you wait?" he asked, moving back behind the counter.

Mamoru tried to appear casual as Usagi slunk to the counter and then delicately perched on the stool next to him – just as she used to almost ten years ago. "No thank you. I think I'm going to wait for the girls."

_Odango waiting for food?_ Oh, he just couldn't pass up this opportunity to –

Catching Motoki's warning glance, Mamoru quickly closed his mouth and picked up his coffee – innocence personified.

He chose to ignore his friends eye roll and instead turned his attention to the angel sitting next to him. Not that  _he_  would call her that – he knew her personality much too well – but if someone had happened to walk by and glanced in they may have, possibly, found that a fitting comparison for the blonde goddess who was now sitting with her perfectly complexioned face perched thoughtfully in her delicate hand and her shapely legs crossed just so, allowing the skirt of her dress to ride ever so slightly up her thigh and –  _Goddammit, Chiba. Pull yourself together!_

Usagi and Motoki both looked at him oddly as he made a sound somewhere between a cough and a groan before downing the rest of his coffee as if it were a shot.

_Smooth, Chiba,_ he thought sarcastically, watching Usagi raise one finely-shaped eyebrow at his friend who only shrugged in response,  _Very smooth_.

"So, Odango," he started, but quickly changed tactics seeing Usagi's glare and Motoki's menacing grip on his towel. "Uh, I mean Usagi-san. How have you been? We obviously didn't get much time to catch up before."

Mamoru watched Motoki wince and realized a little late that perhaps it wasn't best to allude to their last, disastrous encounter.

Usagi simply sniffed, raising her chin in the way he was so familiar with. How she thought she could look down her nose at him when he was taller than her by over a foot was beyond him, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"I'm doing well, Mamoru-san." Usagi replied haughtily, and this time it was Mamoru's turn to wince. He wasn’t used to seeing disdain on her face. Anger? Yes. Ridiculously frivolous happiness? Yes. But cold disinterest? That just looked wrong.

He waited for her to return with a polite question about his health, but when she moved back to gazing out the window he realized she wasn't going to.

Mamoru tried again. "So it seems that your business deal went well the other day."

Usagi nodded, turning her head slightly toward him as if in acknowledgment, but then just as quickly turned away.

A glance at Motoki showed that the man wasn't quite sure what to do either. Mamoru wasn't used to trying to get Usagi to talk to him. Before, it was getting her to shut-up that was the issue. Now, however, he was finding her silence rather annoying, if not a bit upsetting. He was being nice, wasn't he? What more did it take?

Fighting off the expression on his lips that he was worried was starting to resemble a pout, Mamoru tried one last time as Motoki moved away to get something from the back room.

"And Motoki tells me you've been really busy lately with – "

"Mamoru," he was cut off by a rather harsh whisper as Usagi whirled on her stool to face him, her eyes flashing, "I get that you're trying to play nice because Motoki is here, but let's just not even try, okay? I was having a very good day up until this point, and I would like it to continue that way once my friends get here. So please,  _please_  for the love of all that is holy, just leave me alone!"

Mamoru just blinked at her for a moment, trying to make his brain catch up to her words, but having a hard time concentrating as he watched her hair slowly settle around her – individual strands glistening as they caught the sun before being pulled by gravity back toward her body. Then her words sunk in and his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Play nice?" he started to growl. Oh, he'd show her playing nice! Maybe a nice tumble in his bed would help her understand what kind of  _playing_  he was going for.  _Wait, what? No Chiba, focus!_

But before he could explain to Usagi that he was genuinely trying to have a conversation with her, the doors wooshed open again and all hope at an actual conversation with the Odango disappeared in the squeals of five women turned girls.

Her friends had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sigh, I do so love Mamoru's inner voice. Maybe he should start listening to it soon, ne?  
> Give me some love! (Aka reviews :)


	7. Chapter 7

 

The area before the counter quickly became a locus of movement. Usagi wrapped herself around a small bluenette woman Mamoru remembered as the shy girl Mizuno Ami who had also wanted to be a doctor – they had had some nice conversations about it before, when Usagi wasn't screaming like a banshee – and Mamoru could see that for all her usual reservations in public, she was squeezing Usagi right back. Next to them, a gorgeous blonde bounced up and down in excitement – he believed that would be Aino Minako, she and Usagi had always been similar in their unbridled enthusiasm for  _everything_  – and directly behind her stood the tall, shapely brunette Kino Makoto and the dark haired beauty Hino Rei. They had all been pretty when they were younger, but he could tell already that they probably got a lot of attention if they ever went out together now.

Mamoru quickly caught the eye of Rei, who raised her eyebrows in surprise and then smiled at him kindly. He had always gotten along pretty well with Rei, if only because she had adopted his ingenious nickname for Usagi, and he returned her smile as she sauntered over to say hi.

"Chiba Mamoru!" she exclaimed, catching the attention of the other girls, "I haven't seen you around here in a while."

Mamoru nodded and smiled at the other girls, pointedly ignoring the glare being sent his way by a certain disgruntled, petite blonde. "Ten years, I think."

"What are you doing back in town?" Makoto asked, coming over to lean on the counter as well.

"I'm here on business and thought I'd stop in to see Motoki."

"Did you finish your degree in medicine?" Ami spoke up. Mamoru almost laughed at the way Usagi's mouth was now hanging open – she couldn't be happy with the way the conversation was currently revolving around him – and couldn't resist giving her a wink before turning to her friend.

"Actually I didn't. I majored in economics instead. Did you?"

Ami nodded, blushing when Makoto stepped over and wrapped her arm around the girl, "Ami's about to become a doctor!"

"It's not official yet!" Ami quickly corrected her, but Mamoru was pleased by the pride in her voice, "But I have started working at the hospital in Osaka."

"Congratulations," Mamoru replied, warmly. "I always thought you'd make a wonderful doctor." And he meant it. While part of him sometimes wondered if he had made the right choice in _not_  pursuing medicine, he was glad Ami had continued.

Ami blushed again, but before she could reply, Minako piped up.

"Are you single?"

Her question was immediately met by a couple gasps of surprise and a stern "Minako!" from Rei.

"What?" she asked, completely unabashed. "He's a good looking guy and I was just wondering."

"I am currently single, yes," Mamoru replied, a little surprised by her abrupt question.

Minako nodded as if satisfied. Her friends, however, all continued to stare at her, in different stages of shock, amusement, and anger. Mamoru himself found it rather funny. And, wait, was Usagi turning red? He watched her with interest, but she was too busy glaring at her friend to notice. Funny, even with her skin the color of a tomato she was still attractive.

"Minako." She hissed.

Minako waved her hands dismissively, "I mean  _I'm_  not interested, no offense Mamoru-kun."

"None taken," he said smiling.

"I just thought, you know, Mamoru being a friend and all – "

But before Minako could say anything else, Motoki appeared from behind the counter and was quickly met with the same enthusiasm the girls had used to greet each other.

"Hey, everyone!" He smiled, setting a box of napkins down on the counter. "I can be over soon to take your orders if you want. I'm assuming you'll be in your usual booth?"

The girls all thanked him and began walking away, their voices bouncing happily around the room, though Mamoru noticed that Usagi was very clearing tugging on Minako's arm and whispering to her harshly. When he caught her eye she sent him a withering glance and then pointedly turned away.

Mamoru rolled his eyes and turned back to find Motoki watching him with interest.

"So, how'd it go with Usagi-chan?"

Mamoru just glared at him and held up his mug for a refill.

"That well, huh?" Motoki said, with a chuckle, quickly reaching for the coffee pot.

"I don't understand! I was actually  _nice_  to her and she seemed to think it was all pretense."

Motoki nodded sagely, "Well you don't exactly have a great track record with Usagi, so can you really blame her?"

"No," Mamoru grumbled, glancing over at the girls. Usagi was very clearly in the middle of a story – waving her arms around to the laughter of the other girls. "But it can still piss me off."

* * *

 

"What the hell was that?" Usagi whispered harshly, gripping Minako's arm a little tighter than necessary as they walked towards their booth.

"What?" Minako said innocently, then winced as she felt Usagi's fingernails in her skin, "Ouch, okay, okay! I just thought I'd scope him out a bit, you know, to see if you've got a chance."

"A chance?" Usagi gasped, glancing back to find Mamoru watching her and sending him her best glare, "That's ridiculous Mina, I don't  _want_  a chance."

"Usagi-chan, come on. You're both adults now." Minako said, shaking Usagi off long enough to slide into the booth next to Makoto.

"What are you guys talking about?" Makoto asked, looking up from the menu she had grabbed.

"I want to set Usagi up with Mamoru." Minako said excitedly, leaning forward towards the others.

Ami giggled at Usagi's expression while Rei rolled her eyes and Makoto nodded quickly. "He does look  _really_  good, Usagi," she agreed.

"What?" Usagi spluttered, "That has nothing to do with anything. He's a complete jerk!"

"How would you know?" Rei asked, primly arranging her purse next to her on the booth, "You haven't seen him in ten years."

"Wrong," Minako said, holding up a finger in triumph, "She ran into him on Wednesday and he was  _totally_  interested."

"Mina," Usagi whined, "That's not true!" She quickly launched into the  _correct_  rendition of her story – explaining to her friends about the meeting and then the  _awful_  run-in with the Baka in the elevator. The only thing that made reliving the experience worth-it, was the reactions of her friends. Minus the ridiculous topic, this was just like old times, and Usagi was loving it.

"So he cornered you in the elevator," Makoto asked, raising her eyebrows with interest.

"Well, not like  _that_ , but yes. He was just trying to intimidate me."

"It sounds like he tracked you down." Rei said, scanning Usagi's face with that look that always made her squirm, as if Rei knew  _exactly_  what she was thinking, or worse, feeling.

Usagi rolled her eyes. "I think it was just a coincidence."

Ami shrugged, "I don't know Usagi. The manner in which he addressed you makes it sound like he may have been waiting to speak with you."

"Well it doesn't matter," Usagi huffed, "Because he didn't  _speak_  with me, he insulted me!"

"Yes, but he's always done that." Rei said, rolling her eyes.

"Exactly!" Usagi exclaimed, "He always does this! It's like he thinks I'm still a teenager."

Makoto laughed, "Oh don't worry, Usagi, I don't think he thinks that at all."

"What do you mean?"

She watched in frustration as her friends exchanged knowing glances and small smiles. "Guys!"

"It  _means_  we saw him wink at you!" Makoto said, leaning forward in excitement.

"And the way he was practically  _undressing_ you with his eyes."

"Mina!" Ami scolded, but Usagi noticed even she seemed to be agreeing.

"What?" she squawked, "You guys, no," she shook her head vehemently, "Just no!"

"Oh, come on Usagi," Minako said, with an air of superiority, "Can't you just admit the guy is gorgeous?"

"That has nothing to do with anything," Usagi sniffed.

Her friends all groaned, but before they could continue the discussion Motoki came over to take their orders and Usagi made sure to change the conversation as soon as he left. She  _refused_ to let her time with her friends be dominated by that admittedly attractive jerk. She just wished he would stop glancing over at them. It was very distracting.

* * *

 

After chatting to Motoki for a while, and trying in vain not to listen to or glance up at the happy squeals of Usagi and her friends, Mamoru decided to wander over and say hi. After all, it was completely natural for him to want to catch up some of them after so long. Right?

He had continued to deny Motoki's accusation that he was interested in Usagi – so he thought she was a little attractive, so what? – but he had accepted his friend’s help in the hopes that they could at least become better friends. The death glare she sent his way as he walked over didn't look promising, however, even if it was adorable.

"So any of you girls needing refills or anything?" he asked smoothly. Might as well act like his presence was completely normal. That question of Minako's had thrown him for a bit of a loop.

"Business must not be going well for you, huh Mamoru?" Usagi asked, in a voice so sweet he expected to have a cavity tomorrow, "If you've decided you need to start doing Motoki's job."

"Usagi," Rei hissed, while Makoto snorted into her hamburger.

Mamoru simply laughed. The Odango really was a sharp one. "Actually, business is going quite well, thank you for asking."

"If you don't mind me prying, what are you currently working on?" Ami asked. Mamoru tore his bemused gaze away from the Usagi to see the other girls looking at him.

"I'm a head executive at a bank in Kyoto, but I'm here for meetings and interviews about the CEO position here in Tokyo."

Mamoru noticed the girls all looked suitably impressed, even Usagi for an instant, before she rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you stay in Kyoto?"

"Usagi!" This time it was Ami who was reprimanding her friend. "Mamoru is obviously here because the opportunity is better for him and – "

"It's okay, Ami." Mamoru said, leaning against the table and gazing down at Usagi, "It's obvious the Odango just missed me." He smirked, watching as her face darkened, the poor french fry she was grasping becoming potato pulp in her hand.

"Ooooh, you wish, you Baka!"

Mamoru leaned down, catching her eyes for a moment and watching them widen in surprise at his proximity.

"Maybe." He breathed. Then, before she could say anything, he stole a fry off her plate and strolled away.

Makoto's wolf whistle was immediately drowned out by Usagi's screech of "Baka!" and Mamoru winced as got back to the counter to find Motoki staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Well  _that_ was a disaster," he said, pointedly, as they both listened to the other girls desperately trying to calm down their friend.

"Shut up," Mamoru muttered back. He really didn't think he could be blamed for this. He had  _tried_ being nice, and her presence was just so intoxicating that...wait, that wasn't what he meant.  _Infuriating_ , that was it! Yes, she was infuriating.  _And gorgeous_ , a small voice in his brain added.

Mamoru groaned, "Give me another refill, Motoki. I'm going to need it."

The girls finished eating not long after, and Mamoru watched a bit sadly as they prepared to leave. And if his eyes lingered a bit longer on Usagi than everyone else, that didn't signify anything.

She very pointedly ignored his presence when the other girls said goodbye, though, and was almost out the door when Rei headed his way.

"We're going to a dance club tonight –  _Helium Lights_." She said, and while she was addressing both men, her eyes lingered significantly on Mamoru, "You guys should come."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but pointedly ignored Usagi's angry gasp. So the Odango was going dancing tonight? Maybe if he couldn't talk her into being his friend, he could  _charm_ her into it. Oh yes, that could be fun.

Quickly pushing away the images of what Usagi might decide to wear tonight, Mamoru gave the woman before him a smile, "Thanks, Rei."

"See you guys later!" she called over her shoulder.

Mamoru just barely caught Usagi's angry whine of "Why would you do that Rei-chan?!" before he turned to Motoki with a grin. "So, you up for some dancing tonight?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have rushed this scene a bit, but I want to move forward with the action! Please review :)


	8. Chapter 8

Usagi adjusted her dress in front of her mirror, running her hands along her sides to smooth away any imaginable creases, and eyed herself critically.

"Usagi, would you  _please_ stop hogging the mirror and let some of us who  _aren't_  ready, finish up?"

Usagi turned to find Minako behind her, precariously balancing on one foot as she strapped on a pair of rather lethal looking black stilettos. Mina might not be "ready," but she already looked stunning – she wasn't a model for nothing – wearing a tight orange crop top and black miniskirt. Usagi looked down at her own dress and grimaced.

"Mina-chan, are you sure this dress was a good idea?"

Minako snorted as she stepped around Usagi to straighten her own outfit and fix her hair. "Usagi, you know you look good in that dress, don't make me say it again!"

"But isn't it a bit, I don't know...short?" Usagi said, tugging a bit on the hem before Minako slapped her hand away.

"Rei," she called over her shoulder at the dark haired girl who was currently applying her make-up in front of Usagi's vanity. "Could you please back me up here?"

Rei finished applying her eyeliner, turning her head back and forth a couple times to check the effect, and then turned to look at her friend. "Usagi, even I will admit that you look hot in that dress, but you'll ruin the effect if you're not confident."

Minako nodded, striking a pose in front of the mirror, "You've got to own the look to really sell it!"

"I guess..."

The girls had all gathered at Usagi's apartment after shopping to finish getting ready, and as much fun as shopping had been, Usagi was really starting to worry that she had made a mistake. It was so easy to feel confident surrounded by your friends during a shopping high, but dancing in a room full of strangers might be a little bit different.

The dress Minako had picked out for her was a short, tight, little black number – very hot, perhaps even downright sexy – but she couldn't help feeling it would look better on someone like Rei or Mina. Then again, they could make a paper bag look good.

Usagi sighed, and smoothed her hands across her hips yet again as she watched Rei slide her feet into her own high heels and then hip-check Mina away from the mirror. Her red dress wasn't as short as Usagi's, but it might as well have been with the slits it had. Usagi tried to be confident in her own looks, but sometimes those two made it really hard.

"Ta-da!"

Usagi turned to find Makoto pushing Ami into the room from the direction of Usagi's bathroom where they had been doing their hair and she gasped. "Ami, you look amazing!"

After Minako had scarred Ami with her first few scandalous outfits recommendations, the other girls had managed to find her something pretty, but perhaps a little more on the daring side: a dark blue navy sheath, overlaid by a filming light blue cover that danced more loosely around her frame – hinting at, but not quite revealing her curves. Usagi could tell that Ami really liked it by her blush which only deepened at the exclamations of her friends.

"Thank you," she murmured, happily.

"Are you guys almost done?" Makoto asked with amusement, leaning against the wall as she watched Minako and Rei try to preen while jostling each other for the space in front of the mirror. She had opted for a pair of high-waisted dark green shorts and a tan razor back, but with the jewelry the girls had picked out for her, she looked like an Amazon princess. Usagi was particularly proud of the armband she had found in a small jewelry store.

"Pretty much," Minako said, finally stepping away from the mirror and Rei's sharp elbows. "Except that Usagi keeps having second thoughts about her outfit choice."

"It's just so... not me!" Usagi huffed, crossing her arms and then immediately uncrossing them at the way the action made her breasts stick up even more. How had she let Mina talk her into this again?

"But Usagi, you look wonderful!" Ami exclaimed.

Makoto quickly nodded, "Yeah, you're gonna knock Chiba dead tonight!"

Usagi gaped and then tried not to blush at the thought of Mamoru seeing her in this. "But that's not the point! I don't care what that jerk thinks. And I don't get why Rei had to invite him to join us anyway. This was supposed to be a girl's night!"

Rei just waved a chopstick over her head in dismissal before placing it in the bun she had twisted her hair into.

"C'mon, Usagi." Makoto said, pushing off the wall towards her friend, "If you hate this guy so much, and you think he only sees you as a teenager, don't you like the idea of making him a bit hot under the collar? I mean, don't you want to make him squirm a little after everything he's put you through?"

"That's a good point," Minako said, turning from where she had been applying one last layer of powder to her forehead, "Usagi, this could be your chance to show him you're not the klutzy, little girl he always acts like you are!"

"That's true I guess..." Usagi said, thoughtfully. Maybe this  _could_  be a good thing.

"And if he falls in love with you in the process, so much the better!"

"Minako!"

* * *

 

"Dude, stop fidgeting, I'm sure they'll be here any minute."

Mamoru looked up at Motoki from where he was leaning on the bar and glared. "I'm not fidgeting."

Motoki rolled his eyes, "That's the third napkin you've started folding into a crane, only to realize you don't remember how to finish one."

They had arrived at  _Helium Lights_  about half an hour ago and Mamoru, while he wouldn't admit it to anyone else, was starting to get a little antsy.

"Oh, leave Mamoru-kun alone," Reika, Motoki's fiancée, scolded, "Maybe he's just trying to look busy so no one  _else_  asks him to dance."

Mamoru rolled his eyes. She may have started out by defending him, but that last sentence had sure sounded like teasing to him.

"That's true," Motoki said with a grin, "What was that last one? Number five?"

Mamoru turned away from his now laughing friends and took another sip of his beer. Where the heck were those girls? Didn't they realize that it was hard to be a single man at a dance club? Motoki had Reika, but Mamoru looked far,  _far_  too alone at this time of night, when many of the women had had a chance to throw back a couple drinks and were starting to feel brave. Mamoru groaned as he accidently made eye-contact with another blatantly staring and gyrating girl on the dance floor.

He quickly looked away and pretended to wave at someone near the door, hoping against hope that that would make him appear uninterested. He was getting a bit desperate.  _If Odango doesn't show up soon I'll –_

Of course, he didn't even need to finish his threat because at that moment she arrived. Well,  _they_ arrived, but could Mamoru really be blamed for not noticing anyone else but her? Because _damn_  did she look good.

Her hair was piled up on her head in a mass of curls with some pieces falling around her shoulder so that she looked just slightly mussed and her dress,  _her dress_ , it was...shit, it was perfect. Black, making everything else about her shine, and very,  _very_  short. And tight. And low cut, allowing him just the briefest glimpse of perfectly rounded breasts… What the hell did she think she was doing wearing a dress like that to a place like this? Did she not realize half the men in the room were now staring?! Perhaps not just at her, but they were staring! Mamoru bit back a growl.

"Oh, are those the girls?" he heard Reika ask, "Oh, they look wonderful!" She quickly waved them over and Mamoru did his best to get a handle on his emotions. Watching Usagi walk, no _sway_ , towards them was doing odd things to his brain. For one, he was suddenly feeling quite warm and his heart rate had picked up exponentially. Mamoru turned and took a swig from his beer – the largest swallow he had taken all night – and desperately tried to calm himself down before the tightness of his pants became an issue. This was  _Usagi_  for god's sakes!

"Hey, you okay there, buddy?"

Mamoru gave what he hoped was a convincing smile to Motoki and then took a deep breath. He couldn't very well convince Usagi that they should be friends if his brain was presenting him with compromising images of her every few seconds. That wasn't how friendship worked, right?

"Hi, guys!" Mamoru recognized the voice as belonging to Minako and took a deep breath.

_All right, Chiba, show time!_

* * *

 

Usagi had never actually been to  _Helium Lights_ , but she'd been dying to go there ever since some of her coworkers had mentioned it. Walking inside, she felt her face break into a large grin.

"Usagi, this place is perfect!" Minako squealed next to her and the other girls quickly agreed. The club mainly consisted of a large dance floor, but there were booths and tables around the edge and clustered near the bar, and the entire room was full of lights, music, and people.

"Oh, look! I see the guys." Makoto pointed, "And Reika!"

Usagi followed her finger and, sure enough, there they were. Reika was wearing a pretty purple dress and waving at them enthusiastically from her place at the bar next to her fiancé and Mamoru. Where Motoki was dressed in a white shirt and tan pants, Mamoru was dressed all in black, constantly the darkness to counteract his friend's light personality. Usagi shivered. She had known he was fit – you could tell that even when he was wearing a suit – but this was the first time she had actually  _witnessed_  it.

His arms, his chest, his butt...dammit,  _she_  was supposed to be seducing  _him_ , not the other way around! Though, as the girls began to make their way towards them, she realized with a small amount of satisfaction that he hadn't taken his eyes from her figure since she saw them. In fact, he almost looked to be drinking her in with a fair amount of shock.  _Well, that's promising_.

Wait, why did he suddenly look angry? Did he not like the dress? Usagi started cursing Minako in her head for about the twenty-fifth time that night as she watched Mamoru turn away and take a large drink from his beer. Yup, his butt looked  _really_ good.  _Focus, Usagi, focus!_

"Hi, guys!" Mina chirped once they reached the bar. Usagi had placed herself a little closer to Mamoru than the others, but she remained focused on Motoki even as she felt Mamoru turn back towards them. She tried to ignore the way her body was far more aware of him then it should be.

"You all look amazing!" Reika gushed and she quickly fell to discussing their outfits and shopping trip with Rei and Mina.

"Did you find the place alright?" Ami asked Motoki politely.

"Sure did! We weren't sure exactly when you guys would get here, so we've been scoping out the dance floor a bit and, so far, the DJ has been awesome."

"He sounds like it," Makoto agreed, "Is this a mash-up?"

"Can I get you something to drink?"

Usagi turned to find Mamoru leaning back against the bar, watching her with a rather blank expression on his face, though his eyes looked calculating. This close, he looked even better – his hair appeared a bit ruffled, but still managed to fall across his forehead in a way that made her itch to touch it, and now she could see his muscles clearly defined under his shirt, but it was his eyes that Usagi had always liked best. Dark and deep and...hungry. And as he watched her, she felt her stomach tighten and twist just like it had in the elevator and then again when he stole her French fry at the Crown.  _How does he_ do _that?_

Usagi tried to remember what Minako and Rei had told her on the way here – "Stand straight, shoulders back, be confident" "Yeah, and don't be afraid to squeeze your arms a bit to – " "Mina, stop trying to make her boobs pop out." "I'm just helping! I mean she really needs to try to work with what she's got and" – Usagi mentally shook her head. Even in flashbacks, her friends were ridiculous.

 _Be confident_. She reminded herself, meeting his eyes and forcing back the flush that sought to rise across her skin in response to his gaze.  _Show him you're not a little kid anymore._

"Sure," she said. "I'll take a Mai Tai."

Mamoru nodded and turned to signal the bartender. Taking this moment to survey the crowd, she caught herself biting her lip and quickly forced it out of her mouth, earning a wink from Minako.

She smiled in response. She could do this. How hard could it be? She'd seen Minako flirt her way out of five speeding tickets, into two famous actors' dressing rooms, and across the border of the EU without a passport ( _that_  had been an adventure). Surely she could convince one Baka to treat her like an adult?

Mamoru's arm brushed against hers as he handed her the glass and she took a quick sip before leaning against the bar next to him.  _Be confident_.

"So, come here often?" she purred, earning a chuckle from Mamoru.

"Actually, I'm here to meet a girl."

"Really?" Usagi raised her eyebrows and then gestured behind them, "Looks like you've got plenty of options."

Mamoru smirked and her heart skipped a beat, "Nah, I'm here for a very  _specific_  girl."

"Hmm," she murmured, taking another drink as he watched her over the rim of his glass. His eyes twinkled with amusement and something else. Something she couldn't quite read. "Sounds like you've got your night all cut out for you."

Mamoru took another sip of his beer, "Perhaps, though this girl doesn't seem to like me very much. You see, I tease her a lot."

Usagi watched him set the glass down. He had very nice fingers – long, but strong. She wondered what they felt like – were they gentle? Or hard?

"That does sound like a problem," she replied, setting her own glass down and letting her arms cross beneath her breasts as she leaned towards him a bit. She watched in satisfaction as his eyes dipped down, hovered, and then returned to her face. So maybe Mina's advice had made a bit of sense. "Maybe you should stop."

Mamoru nodded "Probably, but the thing is," he leaned forward a bit as well, "I don't want to."

Usagi swallowed. He smelled really,  _really_  good, and his eyelashes were longer than she had expected. Had they always been that long?  _No, Usagi, focus! You are supposed to be in control here!_  But what exactly was she trying to accomplish again?

Lifting one arm she let her fingers trail lightly along his bicep. She watched his eyes darken in response, but couldn't feel very triumphant as she noticed her own heart-rate speeding up as well. This wasn't supposed to be affecting her! _Abort, abort!_

"Well, then, I guess you can't expect things to get much better, can you?"

Mamoru abruptly caught her hand in his own and she almost gasped. Then his eyes were locked on hers and she couldn't breathe.

"Usagi," he murmured, "I – "

"Usagi-chan!"

Usagi tore herself away from Mamoru to find Minako standing before her with a smirk, the other girls arrayed behind her with drinks in their hands. "We're going to go get a table and then dance a bit. You ready?"

Usagi plastered a smile on her face, "Of course." Refusing to meet Mamoru's eyes, she grabbed her drink and started to follow her friends, but stopped when she felt a warm hand encase her wrist again.

Before she could turn around, though, Mamoru came up behind her, his body overwhelmingly warm and hard where he pressed it against her back, leaning forward toward her ear.

"Save me a dance," he murmured, and Usagi could practically  _feel_  him smirking, "Odango."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? I've loved getting your nice reviews! Please keep them coming :)  
> I think it's about time that someone starts realizing their attraction...


	9. Chapter 9

After Makoto all but forced everyone to down their drinks – "My body wants to be moving, not standing. Let's go girls, chug!” – Usagi and her friends hit the dance floor. At first, she felt rather self-conscious about her body and her dress, but soon enough, she was swept up by the rhythm of the bass, the flashing lights around her, and the happy voices of her friends.

Today had been amazing! She hadn't even realized how much she had  _needed_  to be with her friends like this – shopping, laughing, talking. But when they were packed back into their regular booth at Motoki's, or walking with their arms linked through the mall – stopping whenever something caught someone's eye – it was like no time had passed at all.

Usagi loved her job and her life and was incredibly proud of how far she and her friends had come, but she realized now that something was missing. Having her friends back around her like this made her feel  _whole_  again, in a way that was rather surprising – their absence had worn on her so slowly she hadn't even realized that she didn't normally feel complete.

Looking around at them now – Minako dipping and shaking as if she stood in a spotlight, Rei somehow managing to look cool and collected even as the beat increased, Makoto's whole body exploding outward as if she finally felt free, Ami's movements gentle and sweet as she relaxed into the song – she didn't ever want to let them go again.

"C'mon girl, don't think about it!"

Usagi glanced up to see Makoto sending her a knowing look. Had her movements slowed down? Had her face displayed her oncoming sorrow? Or did her friend just know her  _that_  well? Makoto smiled and extended her hand.

"We're all here now, so let's – what did Mina used to say? – chop a rug!"

Usagi laughed and grabbed onto her friend's hand, squealing in surprise as she was quickly whipped around in a tight spin.

"Oooo, me next!" Minako sang, and when Usagi turned back, Ami and Rei were beckoning her over as they linked arms and swung each other around. After a few dizzying moments of spinning and twirling, the girls collapsed onto a nearby booth in a pile of giggles.

"I think we need another round of drinks." Rei said, primly patting her hair back into place as if she had not helped instigate the odd gyrating head-bang that had made it a mess in the first place.

"I second that motion!" Mina squealed from where she lay half in Ami's lap. Usagi nodded in agreement.

Makoto was right. Usagi couldn't ruin their night by thinking about how soon their time together would end. Today, tonight, was for  _now_. And for that delicious fruity cocktail she had seen the bartender make earlier.

* * *

 

Mamoru had finally managed to convince Motoki he didn't need his company at the bar and had watched with amusement as Reika dragged him out to the dance floor. Now all he could see of Motoki were a few flashes of white or tan cloth, though it seemed that the people around him were trying to give him a wide berth. Motoki had never been a very good dancer, but at least he was enthusiastic about it.

All too soon, Mamoru found his eyes drifting back toward a group of women who were also clearing an area on the other side of the dance floor, though perhaps for different reasons. He had finally managed to look at someone besides Usagi for a moment and had not been surprised to find that her friends all looked stunning as well. They were earning their fair share of envious glances or interested looks, but so far they had ignored pretty much everyone around them, far too interested in dancing with each other.

Mamoru smiled as he watched Makoto twirl Usagi close to her and then whip her out again, even as Rei and Ami began swinging each other as if they were square dancing. Perhaps they hadn't changed so much over the years after all.

It was something of a relief to him to think so, though he was still having trouble wrapping his mind around his earlier encounter with the Odango.

In a way, it irked him to no end to think that Usagi wasn't the little girl he remembered, that she had changed. Like many of his memories of Tokyo, he had been terrified to return and find that she had grown up without him. Although he refused to admit it to Motoki, he knew Usagi had been part of what had made the arcade his home. And while he couldn't deny she had probably changed for the better, he also ached at the idea that he had missed it. All of it.

Seeing her at the hotel had been a shock and teasing her had been the easiest reaction – the fastest way out of a potentially awkward situation as he realized that not only was she still beautiful, but she was also now poised, intelligent, and very,  _very_ legal.

He stifled a groan and took another drink of beer. He was a little tempted to just down it and drink another, but the last thing he needed right now was for his hormones to take control of his body. Not that they hadn't already.

He should have just let her walk away earlier, but he couldn't. When she had pulled her hand out of his all he wanted was it back – small and soft – and perhaps to move his other one deep into her mass of curls, to tilt her head back slightly so she looked at him straight on, her eyes sparkling and her lips falling slightly open as he leaned down to…This night was not turning out as he had expected.

Mamoru ran a frustrated hand through his hair. At the hotel, at the arcade, he had teased her because it was the safest option, the easiest way to talk to her, touch her, while still holding on, in some way, to the relationship they had had before. But now...he could feel that slipping quickly away between his fingertips.

When she flirted with him at the bar – and where had them come from, by the way?! – he had thought he was having a heart attack! And he had almost slipped at the end – just barely remembering to call her Odango, to find solid ground back in their antagonism – as a very secret, deeply buried voice whispered to him that perhaps now he could call her something else...call her the name some devil has planted in his mind part way through his dinner:  _Usako_.

When his brain had presented him with that, he had almost choked on his food, causing a passing waiter to look at him with alarm. Where the heck did that come from? And why did it feel so right?

And he had almost said it to her! Purred it in her ear more like.  _What is she doing to me?_

He had always felt a little out of control around her, a little harsher, a littler darker, a little more...predatory. When they were younger, that had simply come out in teasing (though Motoki called it flirting), but now…now he felt like some sort of evil villain, who twirled his mustache while plotting how to steal the innocent protagonist's virtue...

Though looking at her here, all swirling hips and sensual twists, he was having a hard time picturing her as innocent.

Tonight, she looked absolutely  _nothing_  like his little Odango, and he felt some other part of him awaken in response. He had had glimpses of that part of himself before – the charmer, the hunter – but he had buried it deep years ago, when he left for America, and now it seemed to be emerging with a vengeance. Because of her.

He watched as she and her friends collapsed in a heap at the edge of the dance floor. Even from here he could tell her eyes were sparkling with happiness, her cheeks flushed with exertion. And as the desire rose up inside him, to be close to her, to have her look at  _him_  that way – happy and content – he didn't push it down like he would have before. She was so heart-achingly beautiful. And he had the sinking feeling that Motoki was right – he didn't just find Usagi attractive, he wanted her.  _Bad_.

But what if his pushing for anything more than what they had right now, made her back away? Could she be Odango  _and_  Usako? Would he forever be Mamoru-baka? Or could they, perhaps, be something more?

Mamoru turned back to the bar and ordered another beer. He had two more days in Tokyo and he was determined to make them count. Perhaps he would ask her to dance tonight. Either way, he was going to figure out just what the  _heck_  this girl was doing to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feelings...they're just so messy!
> 
> Sorry this chapter was a bit short, but I'll have another one soon :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry my updates are taking so long. Grad school means I'm taking classes and teaching and dying...

"Okay, so how about that one?"

All the girls turned to look at the man Makoto was pointing at. Minako scrunched up her nose in response.

"How old is that guy?"

"Old?" Makoto sounded wounded, "He's not old he's...oh wait...nevermind."

The girls all laughed at her disgruntled expression.

"The lights make it so hard to tell," she whined and Usagi patted her consolingly on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Mako-chan," she said soothingly, "I'm sure he was very good looking when he was younger."

"Yeah, like twenty years ago," Rei added, sarcastically.

Makoto simply huffed and stole some of Rei's drink.

"Oooo, what about that hottie?" Minako asked, shrewdly.

"Where?" Usagi asked, seeing as Minako wasn't even pointing.

"Over at the bar."

"At the bar?" Usagi squinted towards the other side of the room, but couldn't see anyone Minako might be talking about. "The only guy remotely attractive over there is Mamoru. Who are you – "

She turned to see Minako and Makoto grinning madly as Ami giggled behind her hand. Rei simply raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, very funny." She growled. "I've already admitted I find him attractive. What more do you guys want?"

"Attractive?" Minako put her drink down in exasperation, "Usagi, that guy is like god's gift to women everywhere!"

"They why don't  _you_  go after him?"

Minako rolled her eyes, "Because  _I'm_  not the one he's been staring at all night!"

"He has not been staring at me!"

"Usagi," Rei snapped, "you are either blind or completely in denial. Either way, it's really starting to get on my nerves."

Usagi huffed and crossed her arms with a pout. She had been doing a pretty good job of ignoring what had happened earlier with Mamoru, but it seemed being back with the girls meant everything was back to normal – including their ability to sniff out and dive into the exact topics she wanted to avoid.

She had wanted him to look at her, yes, to realize she was no longer the klutzy, crybaby she had been before, but she hadn't expected to be so affected by him. Oh he had noticed her,  _that_ was for sure – she had practically  _thrown_  herself at him! What had she been thinking?! Pushing her boobs up like that, trailing her fingers down his arm like a...like a hussy! Like  _Minako_! What must he think of her now? She had given him so much ammunition! He must have thought she was desperate or crazy or easy or...

But he had responded, hadn't he? She had seen how he stared at her, watched her with heavy lids and a heated gaze that even now made her skin feel hot just by thinking about it. He certainly had what Minako would call a nice pair of bedroom eyes, that was for sure. She shuddered. It was all so…odd. She had never really been attracted to someone like this before, though she couldn't be completely surprised that she was reacting to Mamoru – he had always made her...uneasy. But that didn't mean she  _liked_ it. Or liked him!

But she couldn't deny the shiver that had coursed through her body, the heat that had coiled low in her belly, shooting straight down between her legs when he had pressed himself so intimately against her back. And when he said "Odango," that hated nickname, it had almost sounded like an endearment! A very sensual, very sexual endearment.

Oh dear lord, she was going insane! This was the very  _last_  thing she needed happening right now. Why did he have to come back and bring all those confusing feelings back with him? And what was she supposed to do with them?

"Don't look now," Makoto murmured, "but he's staring again."

Of course, this meant that, as one, they all turned to see Mamoru leaning against the bar and gazing in their direction. Usagi's stomach gave a traitorous flip and she surreptitiously wiped her palms on her thighs under the table. She could tell, even from this distance, that his eyes were on her. And god, they  _burned_.

"He does seem...interested," Ami said.

Usagi snorted, "Nonsense – he's just trying to get under my skin."

"And is he?" Rei asked, sipping at her drink casually, but her eyes were sharp as she watched her friend.

Usagi flipped her hair, desperately trying to think of a witty retort, but ended up taking a large gulp of her drink instead, the burn down her throat matching the burning of her skin as her friends giggled at her.

She couldn't deny to them that she found Mamoru...alluring, but that didn't mean she wanted to admit it either. And his staring was  _definitely_  doing weird things to her ability to think straight. Or was that just the alcohol?

Did it bother her that he was blatantly watching her? Not exactly – part of her was quite proud actually. But another part of her couldn't help but whisper that he was only interested in her because of the dress Minako had forced her into, because with her hair up and the flashing lights she didn't look like herself. She certainly didn't  _feel_  like herself.

Of course, it wasn't like she wanted him to like her anyways! But then why did the it bother her so much that he wasn't really seeing  _her_  right now? Wasn't attracted to  _her_ , but to the sensual, confident woman she was pretending to be? It  _shouldn't_  have bothered her, but it did. A lot.

"Oh, shit."

Usagi was snapped out of her thoughts by Minako's voice with the horrible realization that she had been staring right back at Mamoru this entire time. And now, he was walking towards them.

She turned towards her friends for help, but the traitors were all either smiling or, in Minako's case, positively glowing with malicious glee.

"Usagi," she whispered harshly, as he moved ever closer through the dancers with a catlike grace, "if he asks you to dance you have to say yes!"

"What?" Usagi squeaked. Dance with him? Apparently she could barely  _talk_  to him without turning into a completely different person! This was not good, this was not good, this was not –

"Ladies."

Usagi closed her eyes as his voice, smooth and rich and deep, sounded from beside her and she unconsciously flushed in response.  _Oh, shit._

* * *

Mamoru had been standing with them, chatting about this and that for about five minutes now, and Usagi still had not able to make herself look him in the eyes. She had made it as far as his top button a couple times, and had even gotten as far as his chin once, but then she would chicken out and look away.

And while Minako had tried to drag her into the conversation multiple times, she had been able to, rather brilliantly she thought, deflect the discussion back towards one of her friends every time instead.

She just couldn't trust herself to speak very well right now, not when the heat of Mamoru's body was currently scrambling her brain.  _Why did have to stand so goddamn close to me?!_

After sauntering over to them, he had leaned rather casually against Usagi's end of the booth, and she had already made the mistake once of leaning back and into the arm he had apparently draped behind her. The strangled yelp she had released upon making contact with his skin – leaping forward as if burned – had earned her a few raised eyebrows from her friends, so she had quickly started coughing to cover her mistake. Of course, being the  _gentleman_  that he was (even in her mind, this word was dripping with sarcasm), this meant that Mamoru decided to pat her on the back a few times and she swore his hand lingered a little longer and a little lower than it should have.

She then spent a good minute cursing Minako, her dress, Mamoru, his hands, and her apparently raging hormones before she could even pay attention to the conversation again.

If he didn't leave soon, she was pretty sure she was going to have an aneurism – either from nerves, stress, or coughing. Either way, death was coming soon and she thought she might welcome it with open arms when it did.

"So Mamoru," Minako's voice wormed its way into the haze of Usagi's thoughts and she glanced up, "have you been on the dance floor yet?"

Usagi stared in horror as her  _former_  friend slanted her eyes at her slyly. Yep, death would be a good option right now. Maybe she could take Minako down with her.

Mamoru chuckled from beside her and she fought back a delicious shiver.

"No, but that's not a bad idea."

She felt her eyes widen until she thought they would pop out of her head as his hand made its way to her back again, her breath catching in her throat as he leaned closer to her ear.

"Usagi, would you – "

"Usagi-chan!"

Everyone glanced up to find a young man about their own age walking toward their table with a grin. With only a hint of smoke, Usagi's synapses sparked back to life and she was able to recognize one of her co-workers.

"Oh, Seijuro," Usagi blinked in surprise and then quickly flashed a grin, "hi!"

"I saw you and thought I'd come over." The young man said as he arrived in front of her. Turning, he acknowledged the others at the table with a small smile. "Are these your friends?"

"Oh, yes!" Usagi shook her head – how did Mamoru manage to muddle her thoughts so easily? – and gestured towards them, "This is Aino Minako, Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei, and Kino Makoto, and this is Chiba Mamoru. Guys, this is my co-worker Ginga Seijuro."

She tried to ignore the way Mamoru's name tasted on her tongue as Seijuro greeted her friends. Had she imagined it, or had his gaze hardened a bit when it landed on Mamoru? And had Mamoru just inched closer to her?

She shook her head again; she must be imagining things. How many drinks had she had already? She had lost track somewhere after their third round which had included shots. Perhaps Makoto had gotten a little too enthusiastic.

"So have you been here before?"

Usagi smiled at Seijuro and shook her head. She had always gotten along well with the young brunette man, but that had been it. She had heard some of the women in the office swooning over him, but while she found him attractive, she didn't feel drawn to him at all. She had worried at times that he might have been interested in her, but he had never done or said anything she could react to in a way to show that she didn't return the feeling. And, overall, he was a nice guy. Still, sometimes it felt like his eyes followed her in a way she didn't really like. When Mamoru did it, it made her uneasy, but in an oddly pleasurable way. When Seijuro did it, it just made her feel...dirty.

"I heard a couple people mention the club and we thought we'd try it out." She replied, waving towards her friends. "What about you?"

"I've been here a few times and I didn't  _think_  I had seen you here before. It's nice though, right?"

Usagi nodded politely. She was about to tell him she hoped he had a good time and that she'd see him on Monday – always the easiest way to end an unwanted conversation – but before she could do so, he placed his hands on the table and leaned towards her.

"Would you like to dance?"

Usagi's mouth popped open in surprise and she thought she saw the line of Mamoru's chest stiffen, but when she glanced up at his face it was expressionless.

"Umm…"

"C'mon, it's only one dance. It'll be fun, I promise!"

Usagi nodded, not knowing what else to do, and was promptly pulled from her seat by the enthusiastic man. "Awesome! Let's go!"

She glanced back once at her friends, catching a slight frown on Minako’s face, before she was swallowed up by the crowd.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no Sailor Scout past here, so Seijuro is not an evil alien. But that doesn't mean we can't dislike him anyway :)
> 
> Please review and let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an apology for how long I've been taking, here's a little extra scene!

Minako may not have had the best track record in terms of lasting relationships, but it's not like she was looking for one! What Minako did know, though, was attraction, and whatever was going on between Usagi and Mamoru was off the charts!

How the Crown hadn't burst into flames years ago was beyond her, but the sexual tension building in the club right  _now_?! Minako wasn't sure how they were both still standing. And fully clothed. It was utterly ridiculous.

But there he was, leaning next to Usagi like some dark Adonis, and there she was, perched at the edge of the booth and as close to Makoto as she could get. To some people, it may have simply looked like they were two people who didn't know each other that well, but Minako was not  _some people_. She saw the heat in Mamoru's gaze whenever he glanced at her friend, and the flush of Usagi's cheeks that she knew came from more than just the alcohol. Usagi was leaning away from him, yes, but judging from the way she was worrying her lip, Minako could tell that she was more nervous than upset at his closeness. Minako gave Mamoru a mental high-five. That guy may have been acting like an idiot the past few days, but she was glad to see he had stepped up his game.

After a few attempts to get Usagi to join their conversation and actually look Mamoru in his goddamn eyes – that was always when the sparks really flew between them – Minako decided to go in for the kill. Left to their own devices, who knew when these two were going to get their acts together?

"So Mamoru," Minako asked smoothly, glancing at her friend with a smirk, "have you been on the dance floor yet?"

Minako watched Usagi's eyes widen and then narrow in anger, but she just smiled wider. Usagi would thank her later.

She heard Mamoru chuckle and felt her own heart stutter a bit in response. Damn, but this guy was like sex on legs! Perhaps his hair was a little too dark for her tastes, but if he had been born blonde...

"No, but that's not a bad idea."

Minako watched with barely contained glee as Mamoru leaned towards her friend. Oh yes, this was it! She was so going to win the best friend of the year award once they got together!

"Usagi, would you – "

"Usagi-chan!"

Minako whipped her head around and bit back a snarl as she watched a man with ridiculously  _horrible_  timing walk toward their table. He wasn't bad looking, but Minako was not in the mood for him  _now_ , even if he did have a pretty face.

When Usagi introduced Mr. Cock-Block to Mamoru though, Minako felt her eyebrows raise in surprise. She had always known that Mamoru was a lot more interested in her friend that he let on – she was the only person he ever cracked his cool mask around. First, it had been insults and mockery, but  _this_. Rei had once told her that she looked oddly like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland sometimes, and if she had been looking at her now she would have seen that smile again.

Mamoru was  _totally jealous_!

Minako almost squealed. Oh yes, this was perfect! Okay, so they weren't dancing together, but the night was still young! And she could totally work with this.

She watched gleefully as Mamoru stared down Usagi's co-worker – was it possible to make another human being spontaneously combust just by glaring at them? – and he, in turn, very obviously ignored Mamoru. Though how one could ignore the man when he looked like a panther about to pounce was beyond her.

And then, it happened.

"Would you like to dance?"

Minako watched Usagi's mouth drop open in surprise and Mamoru stiffen behind her, his face becoming a blank mask even as his eyes flashed in anger. Oh yeah, if looks could kill that other dude would be de-ead!

"Umm…"

Minako could tell Usagi didn't want to go, but Usagi was awful about saying no to people when her only reason to say no was her own feelings. It was very sweet, but also made life a bit difficult sometimes. Minako opened her mouth to step in when Mr. Whatever-his-name-was spoke up again.

"C'mon, it's only one dance. It'll be fun, I promise!"

She watched Usagi nod and then get ripped from her seat and pulled toward the dance floor. For a moment, it looked like Mamoru would stop them, but then he stepped back, his expression still unreadable, but Minako could tell from the set of his shoulders that he wasn't happy.

She glanced after Usagi and felt her eyebrows pull down into a frown. That had not gone as she had hoped. Usagi was dancing, yes, but with the  _wrong_ guy!

Without another word to them, Mamoru stepped a little away from their booth and faced the dance floor. She couldn't see her friend through the mass of people, but she had no doubt that Mamoru's eyes were trained on her and her dance partner. She was a little surprised he wasn't pacing – his body radiated the feel of a caged tiger.

Looking back at her friends, they exchanged glances. Ami was clearly worried and Rei looked mildly interested, meaning she was probably going to grill Usagi for every detail about this kid when she got back. Makoto, though, was grinning madly.

"Wow, that Seijuro sure is smooth," Makoto said, whistling softly.

Minako was about to reply when she saw Mamoru twitch out of the corner of her eye and could tell from the others faces that they had noticed too. She felt a slow smile split her face. Perhaps she could save this after all.

"Yes," she said, twirling her straw casually as she turned her body a bit so that Mamoru could hear her better. "Usagi is a lucky girl!" She gave her friends' an exaggerated wink. "Though she may get even luckier as the night progresses."

She and Makoto quickly had to stifle their laughter as they heard Mamoru growl softly. Rei snorted softly, unimpressed, while Ami's eyes widened a bit in fear.

"Though I must say," Minako continued, "I don't think I can see them together."

She watched in satisfaction as Mamoru's head titled the tiniest bit to the right, giving him better access to their conversation.

"Really?" Makoto asked, obviously unsure where Minako was going with this.

"Yeah, she didn't seem too sure about dancing with him, and I just can't see him making her happy, but you know Usagi has trouble saying no."

Makoto nodded slowly, "That's true."

"I hope she has enough sense to push off his advances if she's not interested..."

Rei's head turned sharply towards her, even as Makoto's eyes widened in understanding and she leaned forward, ignoring Ami's frantic gestures that they should stop.

"You don't think he would..." Makoto asked, and they all watched in macabre fascination as Mamoru straightened and stared fixedly toward the center of the dance floor.

"I honestly wouldn't put it past him." Minako said, letting some of her earlier worry seep into her voice. "Usagi's mentioned that guy to me before, and some of what she said wasn't so good."

And with that, Mamoru was gone, pushing through the dancers quickly and purposefully until he too was lost from their sights.

"Why did you have to add that last thing?" Rei asked, obviously disapproving. "You don't even know Seijuro!"

Minako just shrugged, leaning back into the booth and picking up her drink. "Mamoru really wanted the chance to dance with Usagi and, to be honest, I don't like the idea of her having to dance with that other guy when she clearly didn't want to. It's the best of both worlds."

"But what if they fight?" Ami asked, worriedly, "You guys saw Mamoru, he looked really upset and, well, dangerous!"

Makoto chuckled, "My money's on Mamoru. That guy may look like a pretty boy, but he's got muscle."

"But Usagi would hate that!" Ami wailed. Or as close to wailing as Ami ever got.

"That's true," Rei agreed, "I'm guessing you didn't think of that before you sent Mamoru barreling in there like that, did you?"

Minako sniffed delicately, not wishing to admit that perhaps she had been a bit hasty. "Hopefully he'll have enough sense not to."

Rei rolled her eyes. "But he doesn't seem to have much sense when it comes to Usagi, does he? You remember when we were younger."

"Younger?" Makoto crowed, "What about at the Crown only this morning? You'd think he has a death wish."

Rei snorted, "Well he's not a complete idiot. Usagi is clearly attracted to him, so it's not like he's going off of nothing." She raised her glass only to find that it was empty and set it back down with a sigh. "But he does need to figure out how to talk to her without insulting her." Leaning over quickly, she stole Usagi's half empty glass and took a sip. "Idiot men," she muttered.

"Weren't you interested in Mamoru at one point, Rei?" Makoto asked, setting her chin in her hand and watching her friend across the table.

"That's right!" Minako said, stopping her sulking long enough to pounce on that piece of information. "You tried to get him to date you!"

Rei sniffed and folded her hands in her lap primly. "I may have once harbored the idea that Mamoru and I could be more than friends, but I quickly found that we were not...compatible."

"Meeeeaning," Minako said, leaning forward to exchange a grin with Makoto, "You realized he wasn't into you."

Rei rolled her eyes and picked up her stolen drink again, "Yeah, sure. It was kind of obvious once I realized he lavished more attention on Usagi in five minutes then he did on me in an entire week."

"It really is quite odd that they never pursued their mutual interest before," Ami commented, staring at the table thoughtfully.

"Well they're both so stubborn I don't think they wanted to admit they liked each other," Minako said.

Makoto nodded, "Yeah, and then Mamoru left for America and we never saw him again, so that kind of ended anything that could have happened."

"That's true," Ami said, looking up. "It's almost like they've had to start all over again, isn't it?"

The girls all nodded in agreement and sat for a couple minutes in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Soooo," Minako said eventually, clinking her now empty glass against Rei's old one, "the next rounds on Usagi, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry some of that was repetitive from the other chapter, but I just love Minako's character so much! I think her perspective is fun :) But don't worry – we'll be moving onto the dance floor next time ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Some description of unwanted physical contact and a panic attack - it's nothing too major, but just as a heads up!

Usagi tugged her skirt down for about the fifth time in the last minute. She didn't really think it could  _possibly_  be riding up any more than it did naturally – it  _was_  a short dress after all – but the way Seijuro was watching her made her want to check.  _Repeatedly_.

She had agreed to dance with Seijuro, yes, but not exactly enthusiastically, and right now she was really wishing she had had the guts to say no. If she was only like Minako or Rei she could be back with her friends laughing about Motoki's dancing or even out here with Mamoru who she swore had been about to ask her!

She bit back a sting of disappointment. Not that she  _wanted_ to dance with him, but she was starting to think that even the Baka might be better than Seijuro.

Just then, someone bumped into Usagi from behind and she tumbled into her dance partner with a squeal, her face landing on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her body. He had caught her easily and then pulled her even closer up against him as the dancers around them squished together.

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan," he said near her ear, his breath tickling her hair and indicating that his face was rather closer to her than she might like, "I've got you."

Usagi grimaced. Seijuro's shirt smelled of the cologne he used – a rather harsh scent that caused her to wrinkle her nose as she pushed away. His arms around her, however, did not let go as she leveled herself, so that she found her eyes staring at his chin as he smiled down at her. She smiled back uncertainly and pushed away a little harder, but found that his arms and the crushing pack of other dancers made separating herself from him impossible.

She flushed a bit in embarrassment as she felt how close they were and tried to ignore the way his hands on her back made her heart constrict uncomfortably and her shoulders rise slightly as if to give her space to hide.

Suddenly, the throbbing of the music felt suffocating instead of thrilling and she fought a lump form in her throat as the bodies around her and even the weight of her own hair made the dance floor feel much too hot. Had she been sweating this much before?

She looked around for her friends – were they nearby? – and found her head swimming from the movement. She blinked to clear her vision and felt the area behind her eyes begin to throb painfully. Where was everyone?

When she turned back, Seijuro's head was leaning towards her – when had he gotten closer? – and she felt the room spin a little, her head too light and her feet unsure in the suddenly disturbing flashing of the lights. They hadn't fragmented her vision before, but now everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and she was hot, so very, very hot, and his hands were moving down her back, pressing her closer, and why couldn't she breathe correctly, as if she was underwater, and they were moving lower and lower and she didn't think she liked that but she was no longer there, maybe somewhere floating in the air above them, trying to breathe, but the lights kept her from seeing where she was, and stroking lower, she  _didn't_  like that, why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she –

"Hey!"

Usagi's mind forced itself back into her body as the world around her exploded back into focus. The music was still playing, the lights still flashing, but she could stand now, though a little unsteadily, and she could breathe. Her head was still whirling a bit and as she placed her hand to her temple and she realized that the crushing heat was gone. As were the hands that had – Seijuro!

Usagi blinked and felt her mouth fall open.

A small circle had opened on the dance floor around her – allowing her the space and air she had needed – as well as Seijuro and...Mamoru?

Usagi tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened and what she was seeing. Perhaps she  _had_  had too much alcohol, because she was worried she had almost passed out a moment ago. And Seijuro had been...had almost...she shivered a bit, but pushed that thought away because he wasn't touching her anymore. No, now he was standing a good foot away from her, held firmly by what looked to be a  _very_  pissed Mamoru.

Usagi watched in mild fascination as one of the strong hands she had been admiring earlier visibly tightened around Seijuro's shoulder, causing the shorter man to wince. It was his eyes, though, that were truly frightening. Usagi had seen them look haughty, amused, disinterested, bored, confused, irritated, and whatever that look was that he had been shooting at her lately, but she had never seen them look like this. His whole face was tight, but his eyes burned into Seijuro as if he'd like nothing more than to murder him on the spot.

Usagi took a step forward before she could stop herself and laid a hand on Mamoru's arm. It's not like she was exactly happy with Seijuro either right now, but she didn't want Mamoru to get in trouble. In fact, she just wanted to get off the dance floor and pretend none of this had ever happened.

At her touch, she felt Mamoru's body relax a bit and when he looked down at her some of the promised violence left his eyes.  _Well, that's a start._

Before letting go of Seijuro, though, Usagi watched as Mamoru leaned forward to murmur something to the other man, and then he was escorting Usagi towards the bar, but not before she got a look at Seijuro's face. If he had looked uncomfortable before, he looked downright terrified now.

"Can we get some water over here?" Mamoru called to the bartender as he all but forced Usagi onto a stool.

She wanted to protest, but the shakiness of her legs told her not to.

"Are you okay?"

Usagi looked up from her lap to find Mamoru watching her carefully and quickly nodded, trying to force a smile onto her face. Why was it that Mamoru always seemed to find her in the most embarrassing situations? Not that she was complaining – he had really saved her butt back there – but the fact that his actions had been necessary at all would just prove to him that she couldn't take care of herself. Could this night get any worse?

"You looked...out of it."

Usagi nodded again and looked back down at her lap. His stare was starting to get a bit disconcerting and she didn't want to watch the change of expression that would occur once he realized she was fine. She didn't want to see him look at her with disgust. "Yeah, I don't really know what happened. Everyone kind of crushed in around us and suddenly I felt really hot and couldn't really breathe right."

Her fingers twisted around themselves, "And I could feel him, his hands, but I couldn't stop him." She could feel tears forming in her eyes and pushed them back harshly, "I just don't know what happened!"

She blinked in surprise as a large, warm hand enfolded her own, halting the worrying of her fingers, and she looked up automatically, surprised to find Mamoru looking at her not with pity or derision, but with understanding. "It was probably just a mix of the heat and shock, plus the alcohol you've already had."

He smiled as he handed Usagi the water from the bartender, "You girls have obviously been having some fun."

Usagi rolled her eyes, but gratefully gulped down the water just the same. Then she held the cool glass against her forehead and sighed. "I didn't think Seijuro-san would be like...that."

Mamoru made a sound halfway between a snort and a growl. "That's not what your friends said."

Usagi looked at him in confusion, but he was staring out at the dance floor instead, his eyes hard and his body stiff again. One minute he was angry, the next he was caring, and now he seemed pissed again. _This guy has more personalities than there are sprinkles on a doughnut,_ she thought wryly.

Shrugging, she took another drink of her water. "Well at least this means he probably won't bug me anymore," she said lightly, hoping to drain some of the tension out of her companion's body.

Mamoru glared at her then and she felt her hackles rise up a bit in response. "What?" she asked in exasperation.

"Usagi, you've got to be more careful! What if I hadn't seen what was happening? What if I hadn't stopped him? You can't just go around with people you don't really know!"

"I thought I  _did_  know him, Baka!" Usagi retorted, standing up from her stool to poke her finger into his chest, all exhaustion and dizziness forgotten as a familiar feeling of righteous anger filled her body. "You think I wanted that to happen? Of course not! Yes, thank you for your help, but don't lecture me on how to live my life!"

Mamoru grabbed her wrist and pulled it over his shoulder, bending down until his face was level with her own, his handsome features twisted into a grimace she was very familiar with as he hissed, "Well I'm  _sorry_  for giving a damn, Usagi- _san_. But what was I supposed to do? Just let him grope you on the dance floor?"

"No!" Usagi hissed back, her eyes a bit wild as she pressed closer to his chest until they stood toe to toe "But just because I needed help once doesn't mean I can't handle myself in other situations. I'm not a child, Mamoru."

"Damn right, you're not a child, Usagi," Mamoru gritted out, his other hand snaking around her to grip her waist, "So it might behoove you to start acting like it, then you might not need my help!"

"Oooo," Usagi squealed thumping his chest with her free hand, "That is just like you! You think you know everything, but you don't know  _me_! I have grown up since you left Mamoru. I went to college, I got a job, I have a  _life_. What gives you the right to act like you know what's best for me? I would have been fine without you."

"You could have gotten hurt!" Mamoru roared, his hand tight on her back, and suddenly Usagi became aware of their position – her body flush against his own, their noses almost touching, his hand hot where he pressed her lower body closer to his...closer to...

Usagi's mouth fell open as she tried to formulate a response, tried to think of anything,  _anything_ , except the way it felt to be crushed to his chest, to his thighs, to his hips... Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and confusion and desire as she watched his eyes widen as he too realized their...entanglement. He shifted slightly, then, the hand at her waist bunching in the material of her dress as the hand enclosing her wrist tightened and then relaxed slightly, his fingers teasing her skin instead of trapping her hand.

She was getting warm again, her head becoming light like before except...this wasn't like before. She felt confused, hot, sweaty, dizzy, yes, but instead of leaving her body she felt very,  _very_ aware of it. She swallowed and then licked her lips, watching as Mamoru's eyes zeroed in on her mouth and narrowed in response. It was back, that emotion she couldn't quite read accompanied by the hunger she had seen before, the predatory stare that both chilled her flesh and heated her core so bizarrely.

Suddenly, every place her body touched his felt more alive, wired as if her nerves were on fire, more sensitive than ever before. Her limbs felt simultaneously stiff and loose. Had her dress gotten tighter? Oh lord, she could feel her breathing coming faster now, the puff of air from Mamoru's mouth on her face matching her own. Why did he have to smell so  _good_? And his eyes –  _his eyes_  – she was falling, she must be. How else could she explain the sudden squirming of her stomach, the sudden heat of desire suffusing her body as his head leaned lower, his bangs brushing her forehead, his nose slipping against her own, his lips...

_His lips?_

With a cry, Usagi tore herself away and promptly tripped on a bar stool, crashing into the bar where she held on for dear life.

Mamoru remained where they had just been, confusion just beginning to burn through the heat of his gaze, his arms rather comically held in the position they had been around her, only now he held nothing but air.

Gripping the wood of the bar, Usagi inhaled sharply and shook her head for good measure. What the  _hell_  had just happened?

Had he been about to kiss her? And had she wanted him to?!

 _Oh, no. This is just too much for one night!_  She thought hysterically. With a quick burst of adrenaline born from fear, Usagi straightened herself quickly, tugging on her dress and pushing at her hair. From her peripheral vision she saw Mamoru slowly lower his arms, still watching her, his face unreadable.

"Well, umm, thank you for your help." Usagi stuttered, grimacing at how breathy and shrill her voice sounded, "I'm just going to head back to my friends and, umm, yeah."

They stared for a moment longer at each other and then Usagi tripped away with a quick, "Okay, bye!"

Exhaling in relief, she all but ran in the direction of her friends, forcing herself not to glance back at Mamoru.  _Just keep walking, Usagi. You can do this. Oh my god, what just – no, don't think about it! Just keep going. Get to the girls, just get to the girls. Pretend he's not there and just walk!_

Even so, she could feel his gaze burning into her back long after she left his line of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The University I'm at gets out pretty early so I have finals coming up in a couple weeks and my students just turned in their massive research papers and I'm dying just a little... Send me a nice review, please?


	13. Chapter 13

Mamoru wasn't actually surprised that he was now currently watching Usagi practically flee from him across the dance floor. Unsurprised, but also unhappy.

Because with about all the gentleness of a punch to the gut, he had realized that Motoki was right. He liked Usagi. Or as Motoki would have put it, he  _liked_  Usagi. Oh, Mamoru didn't miss the irony of the fact that the woman who had finally caught his attention was the same girl he had relentlessly teased for her clumsiness, immaturity, and bad grades so many years before. Because who in their right minds would have ever pictured them together? Well, he could think of one arcade owner who could probably claim that honor, but besides that? The notion itself was completely ridiculous! But he could no longer deny it was true.

Not after feeling completely murderous at the thought of another man touching her without her permission. He didn't really like the idea of another man touching her at all, but he could at least admit that it wasn't his place to have a say in that matter. Yet. But she hadn't wanted the attention of that other man and suddenly it was like he had lost control. And then, to feel her pressed up against him, to imagine what it would be like to touch her because she wanted him to and then to get so close to finally pressing his mouth against the lips he hadn't been able to stop thinking about since Wednesday…

And as soon as he came to grips with his attraction to Usagi, his brain presented him with another surprise: this attraction wasn't new. No, this feeling had been there for years and he hadn't even noticed! How had he not known? Did he like delving into his own emotions? No. But he also liked to consider himself to be a pretty practical person. How could he have missed it all this time? And what the hell was he supposed to do now?!

Surprisingly, that was the easiest question to answer. Because now that he knew, now that he could admit to himself that he was not only attracted to Usagi, but utterly and completely captivated by her, there was really only one option.

He had to convince her to see him the same way. As a man worthy of her affection. Or at least convince her to give him a chance. But how was he supposed to do that? He didn't even have an excuse to see her again before he had to leave for Kyoto, possibly for good.

Mamoru imagined the look on Usagi's face if he showed up at her door and tried to ask her out. She would probably stare at him like he had grown horns and a tail and then slam the door in his face. Or maybe she would laugh at him. He grimaced. He didn't like the idea of that. But what other options did he have?

"Hey, Mamoru!"

Mamoru broke out of his reverie to find a very sweaty but happy Motoki walking his way with Reika in tow.

"Did you get to dance at all?"

Mamoru grunted as his friend waved over the bartender to order some waters. "Not exactly."

Reika raised her eyebrow at him, "How did you manage to do that? This place is crawling with dance partners!"

Motoki laughed, passing one of the glasses to his fiancée, "Don't underestimate Mamoru's ability to avoid fun, my dear. He's had years of practice."

Mamoru rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to deny the accusation.

"Besides," Motoki said, after gulping down half of his glass, "Perhaps he just didn't find the right partner."

He wiggled his eyebrows a bit and Mamoru did his best to keep his expression flat. Motoki didn't need to know of Mamoru's great epiphany concerning Usagi just yet. Once he did, he would be impossible to live with. Trying to avoid their eyes he waved the bartender over and ordered a Scotch. Perhaps another drink would calm him down a bit. Or maybe if he knocked back enough he wouldn't have to deal with all these new emotions until tomorrow.

"You know, Mamoru," Reika said, watching him carefully as he drummed his fingers on the bar. "There's nothing wrong with going and  _asking_  a girl to dance if you're interested. Or I'm sure one of our friends would be willing to dance with you. Usagi perhaps?"

Mamoru felt himself smirk as he made eye contact with her over the rim of her glass. To an untrained observer, she looked completely innocent, but he knew better. Motoki was nosey, yes, but he was also very blunt. Reika, on the other hand, was subtle, and she had the uncanny ability of asking or suggesting things in such an innocent way that you couldn't possibly question her motives and still sound sane. It was both impressive and disconcerting.

"Oh yes," Motoki said, a little too enthusiastically in Mamoru's opinion, "Why don't you ask Usagi to dance, buddy?"

Mamoru cleared his throat and tried not to sound murderous as the remembrance of what happened earlier came back to him, "Usagi had a bit of a… _difficulty_  on the dance floor earlier. It turns out this guy from her work who asked her to dance didn't have the best intentions." He held his hands up quickly to ward off his friends looks of surprise and worry. "She's okay now, I made sure, but I don't think she's going to want to venture out again tonight."

Motoki set his glass down with an uncharacteristic frown and Mamoru could tell that he was angry. "That's-that's awful! You sure she's okay?"

Mamoru nodded and picked at some lint on his pants, noting with only slight interest that his hand was shaking. "She was a bit shook up at first, but she seemed fine when she headed back to her friends."

"That's good," Reika said, laying her hand on Motoki's arm as if to help diffuse his anger, but she too looked upset. Mamoru wasn't surprised to see his friends reacting so strongly to the news that someone had tried to hurt Usagi – who could ever want to do her harm? – but it did make him ache again at the thought of how much he had missed. From the way the girls had greeted Motoki at the arcade and quickly started conversations with Reika earlier, he could tell how close they had all gotten over the years. He had never really been friends with Usagi's group, but they had been a part of his routine, a part of his life before he left, and it was clear to him now that he was an outsider again. And with what had happened earlier – with Usagi running away from him – had he scared her? Was he any different than that Seijuro guy?

He clenched his fists against the bar at that thought and shook his head. It hadn't been the same, he knew that. She may have been scared, but not because of him – at least, not directly. But did she really hate him? Could she maybe hate him less now, after tonight? And did it matter? If Mamoru hadn't been there… he took a deep breath and tried not to continue on that line of thought. Usagi was safe, she was okay, and if he left Kyoto not seeing her again, at least he would know that.

The bartender came back with his Scotch then and Mamoru reached for it quickly.

"Who was that guy anyway? Is he still here?"

Mamoru downed the Scotch in a way he normally would have cringed at, but tonight the burn felt good. Setting the glass back down he looked up at his friend and allowed a grim smile to pull at his lips. "I had a little talk with him. I don't think he'll be bugging her anymore."

Even to his own ears, his declaration sounded rather sinister, but Motoki only nodded and Mamoru felt a small surge of relief at the trust Motoki obviously placed in him. Usagi was like a younger sister to Motoki, but Motoki seemed to realize – even if Mamoru hadn't yet revealed to him his own feelings – that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to Usagi.

The music and chatter continued around them, but for a few minutes the trio was silent. After a little while of staring at the dancers without seeing anything, Mamoru turned back to his friends to see them silently trading meaningful glances. Facing them completely, he caught their gazes and raised his eyebrows in silent questioning.

Motoki just shrugged and nodded at Reika who quickly set her glass down. "When I was talking to Rei earlier, she mentioned that the girls are all getting together to go to a carnival that's in town this weekend and she invited us to join. She told me to invite you as well."

"I know it's not really your scene, buddy." Motoki added, "But it should be fun."

Reika nodded, "Everyone will be there."

Her slight emphasis on "everyone" let Mamoru know what she was up to, but he was too happy to care. Tomorrow, he could see her tomorrow! This was it. This was his chance. Screw the thought of just knowing she was safe – this would be the perfect opportunity to hint at his intentions without knocking down her door. Or, at least, the chance to make her not hate him.  _That's it Chiba, baby steps._

Carefully concealing all of these emotions behind the mask he had taken years to craft, Mamoru cocked his head to the side as if in thought. After a few moments, he shrugged and gave his friends a small grin, "Why not?"

* * *

 

After waving goodbye to her friends, with the promise to Rei that she would be ready promptly at 12:30 tomorrow, Usagi collapsed with a groan onto her bed.

The night had not gone as she had anticipated.

First her disastrous attempts to flirt with Mamoru and then that awful dance with Seijuro – Usagi shuddered in remembrance and then sat up with a sigh. At least now she would have a good excuse to avoid him.

And Mamoru? Usagi tried to ignore the way her stomach clenched when she thought of his mouth near her ear, his voice huskily murmuring her name, the feel of him pressed against her so intimately, his eyes staring down at her as if he – as if they – no!

Usagi snorted. Mamoru was not attracted to her, at least not  _actually_. So she had looked hot tonight. She knew it. Minako hadn't worked on her hair for an hour for nothing and that dress! But that didn't change the fact that he thought she was stupid and klutzy and a crybaby.

Lifting herself off her bed with a groan, Usagi moved to her bathroom to begin taking off her make-up. Cringing at the state of her face, she set to work washing up and trying to forget everything about the night except her friends.

Of course, that just made her think about their attempts to get her to admit Mamoru was hot which brought her right back to her original issue. Even when they weren't here her friends kept bringing him up!

Yes, he was hot – how many times did she have to say it? But he was also arrogant, distant, and mean. Usagi nodded at her freshly scrubbed self. She didn't want to date someone like him!

 _Besides,_  she thought to herself,  _even if I did – which I don't! – he's probably seeing like five different girls in Kyoto, the prick._

Minako's question and his answer swam into her head, but she shook it off. Just because he said he was single didn't mean he wasn't dating around. Prick. Not that she cared or anything.

Shimmying into her night gown, Usagi set to brushing out her hair in careful strokes to avoid tangles the next day.

After all but running away from Mamoru, her friends had greeted her with worry in their booth. She could only surmise she must have looked about as freaked out as she felt. At their insistence, she told them what happened (on the dance floor anyway) hoping to avoid Makoto going to jail for murder, though even with a rather adapted story Mako-chan had all but broken the table in two, only staying in the booth because the other three girls piled on top of her at Usagi's insistence. They had all looked about the same, though – even Ami had looked pretty murderous as she all but pored more water down Usagi's throat.

Usagi had been able to tell that they also looked a bit guilty, presumably because they had let her dance with him. She calmed them down as best she could by assuring them that nothing had really happened, Mamoru had helped her, and Seijuro had left, which she could only assume was true. At first, she had been worried that Minako would latch onto Mamoru's role as her hero, but she should have known better. Mina wouldn't have pushed something like that after what had happened.

They had all left the club not long after, only waiting long enough for Rei to call them a cab, and after being fussed over the entire drive, Usagi had insisted she did not need to be tucked into bed, though she did allow Mako-chan to walk her to her door.

No, it hadn't been the night they had planned on.

Falling into bed with a yawn, Usagi closed her eyes only to open them at the sound of her phone. She had forgotten to put in on silent.

Rolling over, she saw her screen illuminated with a text from Rei:

_Forgot to mention, Mamoru might be at the fair tomorrow. Thought you should know._

Fighting the sudden urge to throw her phone, Usagi threw herself into her pillow with a groan.

 _Why me?_  She thought desperately,  _I'm a good person! I give spare change to people on the street and I hold the door for old ladies. What more does the world want?!_

She had thought she wouldn't have to see him again before he left, already planning not to go to the arcade for another week just in case, and now? What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to act?

First, she showed up looking like, well god damn hot, but not at all like herself. Then, she flirted with him, got relatively drunk, almost fainted on the dance floor while getting groped so he had to sweep in and save her, and then she had fought with him! That in itself was not new but she had almost-almost kissed him!

Usagi groaned again. This was all too much. How could she face him now? And how, exactly, did she feel about him?

With a gasp, Usagi shot up. Where had that question come from?! It must be that damn Minako getting into her head!

So what if his voice made her heart quiver – it was obviously with anger! So what if his eyes made her knees weak – it was simply the side effect of feeling like a klutz around him! So what that his hand on her skin made her body heat, and her breath quicken, and her stomach tighten – it was simply…simply…

Usagi searched desperately for an explanation.  _Alcohol!_  Her mind joyously supplied.  _Yes, alcohol!_  She thought triumphantly. She had been drunk, he most likely had been too, and with the lights and the music it had all just been a trick of the mind!

Having sorted all of that out, with a satisfied nod Usagi curled back under her covers, promising herself that she would simply avoid the Baka as much as possible and have fun at the fair with her friends. No problem.

It would be easy!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I keep using 'carnival' and 'fair' interchangeably, and they aren't quite the same thing, but I've decided I don't care!

Mamoru arrived at the gates to the carnival to find Motoki, Reika, Makoto, and Ami already there. After the greetings were over, they talked for a bit as they waited for the others.

Motoki glanced at his watch, which now read 1:10. "We agreed 1:00, right?"

Ami sighed while Makoto snickered.

"Yes," Ami answered, actually sounding petulant, "I knew we should have told Usagi we were meeting later!"

Makoto shrugged, "She won't  _actually_  be a half hour late this time, though. Rei made sure she was the one giving Usagi a ride. And you know Minako is just as bad. It could be either one of them holding it up!"

Ami sighed again and Mamoru tried not to laugh.  _What that poor girl must suffer_ , he thought, though without actually meaning it. She was best friends with Usagi, for god's sakes. There was no way that could even count as suffering!

"Wait, I think I see them!"

They all looked where Reika was pointing and, sure enough, through the parking lot towards them skipped a glowing Usagi accompanied by Minako and an already rather grouchy Rei. Mamoru was disappointed if not exactly surprised to notice that Usagi seemed to be doing a very good job of avoiding eye contact with him. Judging from her reaction last night, he hadn't expected any better, but it still hurt a bit. He'd just have to be a little more careful today. Luckily, there was no alcohol or dim lighting here to hinder his self-control. Or unluckily, if it meant he could get that close to Usagi again… Who was he kidding? When had he ever had self-control around that girl?!

"I got them," Rei muttered, coming up to Makoto and Mamoru while Usagi and Minako happily greeted the others, "finally."

"You do god's work my friend," Makoto said, placing her arm around Rei's shoulders and guiding her towards the entrance. "What say we get you a nice lemonade?"

Mamoru smiled as he followed the others into the park turned fair ground. Normally, he would have cringed at the idea of going to such a thing, but the delighted expression on Usagi's face when they bought their tickets was already doing a number on his system and he had a feeling he might actually like carnivals…now.

Usagi had requested – or more like pleaded – that they ride the Ferris Wheel first and she bounced at the front of the group in unbridled, carefree joy, stopping every once in a while to point something out to one of her friends or squeal over a prize in a game booth.

Mamoru noted with regret that the only thing missing from this teenage vision of Usagi were her Odangos. He had always rather liked those; they were just so…Usagi – unique, pretty while childish, streamers of sunshine. Not to mention, if you tugged on one ponytail, her head did this adorable tilt to the side and her eyes would grow wide for an instant before narrowing in anger.

Now her hair was in a braid – beautiful, yes, but not the same. With a braid, if you tugged, her head would probably fall back, hiding her oh-so-expressive eyes. Though perhaps then revealing her throat, her beautiful expanse of soft skin probably so perfect for nuzzling or kissing or –  _Dangerous thoughts, Chiba,_  he thought, dragging his mind out of the gutter that had practically become his home these past few days. How did Usagi do this to him? Without even trying?!

Shaking his head, Mamoru decided not to deal in fantasies, not when he had the real thing in front of him. He had wanted the Tokyo job before – better pay, more freedom to make changes or handle issues, living near Motoki again – but now, that want had increased ten-fold with the thought that he would be in the same city as Usagi; able to see her, talk to her, touch her. He needed this job, or somehow he felt like he would lose everything. It was a scary thought.

"Oooo, funnel cakes!"

His morbid train of thought was quickly derailed by the delighted squeal of Usagi. He smiled bemusedly as he watched her argue with Rei – "How can you still be hungry, Usagi? You  _just_ ate a corndog, a caramel apple,  _and_  a bag a kettlecorn." "Well, you and Mina-can had some of my kettlecorn, so I hardly think that counts!" "Two bites, Usagi.  _Two bites_!" – while trying to ignore the whispers of Reika and Motoki as they observed him, as they had been all afternoon. Oh, he was a goner, and he didn't need any more of their meddling to know it. Turning to them, he gave Motoki a wink and laughed when Reika pinched him and Motoki coughed – obviously embarrassed they had been caught. Maybe he should be mad, but he just couldn't care, not when Usagi was so happily nibbling on a piece of funnel cake next to an irritable Rei.

He wanted to laugh again as he saw the powdered sugar she had managed to spread across her nose. Was it fair for one person to be this adorable? Deciding to give Reika and Motoki a little show, and because he couldn't help himself anyway, Mamoru sidled over to Usagi and, before she could do more than look up at him questioningly, reached down and wiped off her nose with his thumb, letting his mouth linger against the edge of her hair.

He felt her freeze as his breath hit her ear. "Be careful, Odango, or someone might try to get a taste of you."

And as he straightened he carefully and deliberately sucked the sugar off his thumb, smirking at her wide-eyed stare of disbelief and – could it be? – desire.

Mamoru continued walking toward their original destination, already chuckling as the happy noises of the carnival disappeared in an unhappy shriek of rage. Oh yes, today was going to be fun.

* * *

 

After riding the Ferris Wheel, the bumper cars, the pirate ship, and the tilt-a-whirl (twice), and eating cotton candy, a hot dog, some of Makoto's nachos, a fried candy bar, and a soft pretzel, Usagi looked eagerly around herself for the next thing they should do. Ami and Reika had, rather desperately, asked if they could all sit down for a bit, and Usagi noticed that Motoki had also looked rather relieved.  _Weaklings_ , she thought with a slight pout. Today was not for resting! Today was for fun!

Glancing back towards her group, Usagi realized someone was missing.  _Where is that Baka?_

Not that she cared, but once she knew where he was she could avoid him better – like she had been trying to do all day. It shouldn't have been hard – there was so much to see at a carnival! – but everywhere she looked she could feel his eyes, warming her skin, brushing her hair, trailing down her spine… Usagi shivered and glanced around again. How could one man make her feel so…unsettled?

Just then, she located him standing by a nearby game booth, talking to a young woman Usagi had never seen before. Not that that meant much, Usagi didn't recognize most of the people in Tokyo, but this girl was very pretty and, for some reason, that did not sit well with her.

She watched as the other girl expertly flicked a piece of her undeniably gorgeous hair – how did she get it so wavy without it frizzing in this heat? – and laughed at whatever Mamoru had just said. Usagi imagined it had probably been witty. Whatever else she might say about him, Mamoru was witty. And hot. And…flirting?

Usagi felt her face flushing with anger as Mamoru leaned closer to the girl to look at the paper she held up to him, his hand hovering behind her back. Was he touching her?!  _How dare he touch another girl's back after touching mine!_  she thought, rather desperately remembering Mamoru's hand where it had grasped her last night – hot and firm and desperate and so,  _so_   _good_  –

 _No! Usagi_ , she berated herself,  _You don't_ care _who Mamoru talks to. He can talk to whoever he wants! And touch them! Maybe… No… Yes! Why do you care? Whatever happened last night was a fluke. You were obviously drunk and he was obviously also drunk! That's all there was to it._  She nodded decisively and crossed her arms. She didn't care. But why did the girl have to be so pretty?

 _Maybe he likes brunettes_ , a small voice in her head whispered and Usagi felt herself deflate a bit as she fingered her hair, which she had started to come lose from its braid.  _He probably at least likes girls who don't stuff their faces with food or yell at him or act like a child_. But she didn't do that! All the time…

Usagi gave a small huff, causing her bangs to flutter around her forehead. This was ridiculous. Like she said, what did she care if the Baka was laughing with the girl now, or if said girl was touching his arm and leaning towards him as if to – Maybe she should go bring him back to the group. You know, so they could all stay together.

"Mamoru!" she called, walking up to him quickly, though with her short legs it looked more like a jog.

Mamoru and the other woman turned to look at her and Usagi bit back a curse. Okay, forget pretty, this girl was gorgeous. Dammit…

"Yes, Usagi?" he asked, though from the twinkling of his eyes it sounded more like he was calling her Odango.

"Umm…" what was her plan once she got here? "Motoki thought we should all stay together so we can plan our next move." Oh yeah, that sounded good! She gave herself a mental high-five.

"Really?" he asked, glancing over at the picnic tables the group had secured where Motoki was currently sitting with his head in his arms. Was he snoring? When he turned back to her, Usagi tried to keep her eyes wide and innocent, though she could feel her skin beginning to flush. His lips quirked into that grin he always wore around her and she fought back the urge to narrow her eyes in response.  _You are innocent, you are calm, you are collected,_  she repeated to herself, even as she felt the blush deepening across her cheeks.  _Curse you, fair skin!_

With a simple nod, Mamoru turned to the girl next to him and smiled politely. "I hope my directions made sense, though I'm sure if you get lost again, someone else could help you out."

The woman moved her eyes from their appraising look of Usagi back to Mamoru, and she beamed. "Yes, thank you." Then she reached smoothly into her purse and pulled out a business card as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Call me if you ever want a tour around Tokyo."

Mamoru smiled and pocketed the card while Usagi fought her oncoming eye roll. Then, with a flick of a perfectly manicured hand, the woman left, sashaying around a corner and away. Was she wearing high heels? At a fair?!

Usagi did roll her eyes then, and turned back to find Mamoru watching her with amusement.

"Did you not tell her you  _grew up_  in Tokyo?" she asked scathingly, "Or were you too busy looking down her dress?"

Mamoru chuckled, "While I did grow up in the area, yes, that doesn't mean I necessarily know my way around. It's been awhile since I've been here." He shrugged and leaned back against the food cart they were next to, grinning. "A tour might be nice."

"Well I'm sure Motoki would be perfectly happy to show you around," Usagi said, her nose rising into the air a bit.

Mamoru laughed out loud at that one and then leaned forward until his breath tickled her face again. Why was he always getting so close to her all the time? Didn't he realize what that did to her brain?!

"Sounds like someone," he drawled, poking her nose with his finger, "is jealous."

Usagi gasped as he straightened and began walking back towards their group. "Jealous?" her voice rang out far louder than she meant it to and she hurried to catch up to him, grabbing his arm so that he turned to face her. "I am not jealous."

"Oh really?" his lips quirked again, but his eyes were challenging, "Then why didn't you want me to talk to her?"

"I told you," she replied primly, "Motoki said – "

"Bullshit," Mamoru said quietly, cutting her off so her mouth hung open for a moment.

She quickly closed it, deciding to switch tactics. Okay, so her lie hadn't worked, but that didn't mean she was  _jealous_. "Fine, I made that up. But really, I was just doing my part to save that poor girl before she got to know you and realized what an awful person you are."

Mamoru's barking laugh caught her off guard. He'd been doing that more and more lately – laughing at her insults instead of firing any back at her. It was…odd.

"Hey, you two!"

They looked up to find Minako waving at them from the tables, while Reika gently poked her boyfriend.

"What's up?" Mamoru said, as they got closer.

"Makoto and I decided what we're going to do next!" Minako answered, bouncing up and down as Motoki raised his head groggily. "Waz hapnin?"

"We're going to the funhouse!"


	15. Chapter 15

With a little cajoling and corralling from Minako and Makoto, the group quickly found themselves in front of the funhouse. A sign out front declared that patrons should enter in groups of 2 or 3 only – "to prevent crowding" – so with a happy whoop Minako grabbed Makoto and ran inside, quickly followed by Ami and Rei. Glancing back and giving them a shrug, Motoki and Reika entered next, leaving Usagi and Mamoru to stand outside.

Usagi stared in shock for a moment, at the large door resembling the mouth of a clown.  _My friends just abandoned me_. She glanced to the side to find Mamoru watching her through his bangs.  _With the Baka_. She huffed. See if she got any of them the totally stellar Christmas presents she'd been planning.

"Soooo," At his voice, Usagi looked over to find Mamoru awkwardly shifting his weight back and forth between his feet, staring at the door of the funhouse. "Wanna go in?"

When he looked at her next, Usagi was a bit surprised by the small smile he gave her. It was neither mocking, nor sarcastic, and for a moment, he actually looked like a little boy. Before she could even realize what she was doing, Usagi nodded and then she was following Mamoru inside.

Almost immediately, they were confronted by two doors: one was very large and the other was rather small.

Mamoru glanced back at her, "Which one?"

Usagi gave him a once over and then presented him with her best malicious grin, pointing at the door that Mamoru's tall frame would probably have some trouble fitting through.

Surprisingly, Mamoru didn't balk or argue or groan, instead he just sighed and then chuckled. He  _chuckled_. "I should have known." Did he…did he say that  _fondly_?

Usagi found herself watching him again, warily. Part of her wanted to shake him, shouting  _What have you done with my Baka?_  But another part of her wanted to throw her arms around his waist and beg this nice, pleasant Mamoru never to leave. Instead of the flushing heat that had lately accompanied his…hands…and his rather confusing behavior, she found herself feeling oddly light and giddy. Like she enjoyed his presence. It was very conflicting, to say the least.

Usagi realized she had been quietly staring at him for a big longer than was necessary…or normal. She quirked an eyebrow at him, as if in a dare, and he smiled. Damn, but he had a nice smile.  _What is this man doing to me?!_

With a small bow he gestured towards the door, "Ladies first."

Usagi snorted and then walked forward, opening the door and preparing to crawl through. Then she stopped and glared up at him. "Don't be checking out my butt, okay?"

She watched his eyes flick down towards her rear and then up again quickly before he cleared his throat, replying with a smooth, "Of course not."

Usagi smirked.  _Yeah right_. And then crawled through the door.

* * *

 

Oh, he had checked out her butt. And then some.

But he figured, if she was going to make him squeeze through that teeny, tiny door, he should at least get something out of it.

He found Usagi leaning against a crooked pole in a room full of far too many florescent colors, positively cackling as he carefully crawled his way inside, and when he got stuck for a second he thought she was going to fall over from laughing so hard.

Yup, he had definitely deserved that long stare at her butt.

"Okay, okay," he said, straightening his clothes and waiting for her to catch her breath. "Usagi, you're going to laugh up a lung."

She stopped laughing quickly and glanced up at him, "Is that a thing?"

Mamoru thought about rolling his eyes, but found himself grinning instead. Damn, his mouth was starting to hurt around her. "Guess you'll have to ask Ami."

Before she could retort, and she looked like she was going to, Mamoru grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. "C'mon, let's look around."

Usagi had a bit of trouble with the oddly tilted room they found themselves in – she had never had the best balance – but she climbed eagerly over and under everything, darting around until it was all Mamoru could do to keep up.

Every once in and a while he heard the shouts or laughs of someone else in their group ahead or behind, but Mamoru couldn't really focus on anything but Usagi. The way she giggled at everything, the feeling of her little fingers tugging on his arm to pull him somewhere else, the way her smile lit up her face and her hair swished around her as she moved.

And then he was falling, literally falling down a slide Usagi had pushed him into, collapsing at the bottom with a thud and, before he could even move, Usagi was sprawled on top of him – all soft limbs and softer hair, giggles, and the light smell of lavender. He kept his arms around her while she caught her breath, eyes dancing as she glanced down at him, probably not even realizing that she was utterly and completely captivating. If Mamoru hadn't already realized he liked her, this day, this moment, would have clinched it.

All too soon, though, her eyes shuttered a bit and she pushed herself off of him, climbing unsteadily to her feet. Mamoru followed warily and cursed himself a little. He needed to be more careful! He had finally come to realize his feelings for Usagi, but that didn't mean she would so easily realize her own. That is, if she actually had them. Motoki and Reika seemed pretty optimistic, but Mamoru himself wasn't so sure.

There were moments, fleeting glances where it seemed like she absolutely, positively, had feelings for him. Or at least desire. That wasn't completely new for him – he knew he was attractive, and add money to that and he was pretty much anyone's dream – but that didn't mean that they actually liked him. And he wanted Usagi to like  _him_. So maybe she didn't yet, but if she could at least admit she was attracted to him, he thought he could work with that. Hopefully.

The next room they found themselves in was a hall of mirrors.

"Look," he turned to find Usagi giggling in front of a mirror that stretched the image of her body, "I'm tall!"

He quickly walked up to the mirror next to her which squished his own image down, "Ah, so this must be how you must feel all the time," He glanced at her with mock sympathy, "I'm so sorry."

Usagi gasped, but Mamoru couldn't help thinking it sounded like a happy gasp as she pushed him sideways. "I do not! I don't look that stumpy."

Mamoru allowed her to push him away and then made a dramatic show of looking her up and down, "That's true, Tsukino-san, you have a much nicer figure." He wiggled his eyebrows and watched as she blushed while trying to appear angry.

"You look ridiculous." She said, walking by him toward another wall of mirrors.

"Ridiculously handsome!"

She laughed at that and he reveled in the sound and the knowledge that he had caused it, grinning rather stupidly.

The rest of the funhouse passed much the same – they traded jokes and insults, but it was lighter this time and Usagi laughed more than she pouted. By the time they had found their way back outside he was feeling a lot more confident about the entire situation.

"Look who finally decided to show up."

Mamoru glanced away from Usagi to see the rest of the girls waiting outside. A little further away, he could see Motoki and Reika buying more tickets from the gate he now recognized as being the one they had come in by. He hadn't realized the funhouse was so close to the front of the carnival. They'd been all over the park today.

"We thought we were going to have to send in a search party." Rei said, smirking.

"Get a little caught up  _exploring_?" Minako asked with a wink and Mamoru prepared to roll his eyes, but stopped in surprise as he saw Usagi stiffen next to him.

"I don't know what you're implying, Minako," She said, her voice dripping with the sarcasm and anger that was usually directed at him, and Mamoru felt his stomach drop a bit as she took a few steps away from him.  _Wait, no no no,_  his mind protested,  _Things were going so well!_

"I think she was implying that you and Mamoru got lost…on purpose," Makoto explained with an even bigger wink, causing the rest of Usagi's friends to laugh.

Mamoru watched in horror as Usagi's spine straightened and her lips curled into a sneer – as she turned back into the girl who wouldn't let him close to her, who yelled at him for no reason, who didn't want to be his friend, his…anything.

"That's not – " he started to explain, hoping he could salvage any of the happiness he had started to think they could have together, but Usagi quickly cut him off with a stamp of her foot.

"As if!" She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him, "You guys know that would never happen."

"Well…" Rei said doubtfully, causing more titters among the girls. Mamoru's heart sank. Couldn't they see what they were doing? Couldn't they see she couldn't even admit it to herself yet? If he pushed her too much, if they pushed her too much, he'd be right back to where they started. Or worse.

"No!" Usagi said, planting her hands on her hips and sending Mamoru a withering glance. "Mamoru is absolutely the  _last_ person I could ever be interested in. You guys know that! You guys know  _me_! I can't believe you'd even suggest it."

Mamoru wanted to freeze everything. He wanted to take Usagi into his arms and beg her to stop talking, to kiss her until she realized what he had last night, to walk away and never have to feel like this again. Because he was feeling something. And it  _hurt_.

He wasn't sure how a girl so understanding, so kind, so… _in tune_  with the people around her could be so blind to him. Didn't she see that he liked her? That he wanted  _more_ from her? That what she was saying  _hurt_? For a little while, he had entertained the idea that she needed him and their arguments. She needed to use him as a punching bag because he seemed to be, in truth, the only outlet she had. But he couldn't pretend that anymore, he didn't  _want_  that anymore.

She was ranting more, he could tell from the way her hands were curled into fists and her hair practically bristled off her head, but he just couldn't seem to hear anything over the pounding of his heart, the rush of the blood in his brain.

He thought he had left this feeling behind at the orphanage – this feeling of inadequacy. He had gotten everything he had ever wanted – power, wealth, status – but suddenly, he felt like he had nothing. Like he deserved nothing.

And when she turned to him, hands on her hips, chin raised, eyes challenging, he knew what she wanted – she wanted him to say something back. To fight, to argue, to let everything go back to how it was before. But as he stood there, surrounded by the noises of children, teenagers,  _families_ , he couldn't. He couldn't go back to that because if wasn't enough. It would  _never_ be enough.

But she couldn't give him any more.

He watched her chin fall slightly, her fists loosen, her eyes look unsure. If he had his way, he could just walk up to her and smooth away the crease above her nose as she furrowed her brows, sweep away all the confusion and pretense and just hold her, but he couldn't. Because she wouldn't let him.

"Baka." She said, as if repeating her last statement, though even to his own ears it sounded more like a question.

With a sad shake of his head Mamoru lifted a hand to his face and wiped across his forehead. He was suddenly feeling very,  _very_  tired.

"I think I'm going to head home now."

"Mamoru-kun, are you okay?" Ami asked, and Mamoru realized that all the girls were looking at him worriedly, even Usagi.

"Yeah, I'm just…tired."

With a small smile, Mamoru waved a goodbye, doing his best to avoid the piercing blue gaze now burning into his skin, and headed towards the gate.

Motoki and Reika met him on the way back.

"Hey, buddy! We just got some more," Motoki stopped short at Mamoru's expression and dropped his hands to his sides, "tickets." He finished lamely.

"Mamoru," Reika said, catching his eye kindly, "Are you okay?"

Mamoru nodded, but he could tell from the way both their shoulders drooped that they could see in his eyes that he wasn't.  _Why_  he wasn't.

"Mamoru, I'm really – "

"Don't be." Mamoru said, shrugging off Motoki's hand and giving them a strained smile. "Some things just weren't meant to be."

And with that, Mamoru headed to his car, quickly driving toward the nearest highway to clear his head. But no matter how fast he drove, how loudly the wind rushed through his windows, he could still hear her laughter ringing in his ears.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure exactly why, but I'm really proud of this chapter. I hope it made you feel things, because I was feeling some stuff writing it. Poor Mamoru, but also poor Usagi…change can be hard, but staying the same can also hurt.


	16. Chapter 16

 

The sounds of the carnival faded out as Usagi watched Mamoru walk away.

 _Why?_   was all she could think,  _Why?_

She swore she should could hear the grass bend under his feet, the slight crunch of the gravel as he came to the main path, the swish of his pants as leg passed leg. The sound of him leaving. Again.

_Why?_

Usagi watched, mouth slightly open, brows furrowed, hands limply at her sides.

Why didn't he fight back? Why did his eyes look so incredibly full and then empty? Why did she suddenly feel so,  _so_  wretched?

"I-I don't understand," She stuttered.

She hadn't realized she had spoken aloud until Rei's irritable growl brought her back to herself. "Usagi, how could you still not understand? He likes you!"

Usagi looked over to find her friends regarding her with a mix of anger, sadness, pity, and, was that, disappointment?

"How you could say that stuff to him after everything we've told you?" Rei asked, pointing after Mamoru. Or at least Usagi assumed that was what she was pointing at. She didn't think she wanted to look again.

Instead, she shook her head, feeling her throat constrict as it always did when she felt like crying, still not understanding why she suddenly wanted to. Needed to. "But this is how we always talk. We just – we always – I just don't understand!"

Makoto stepped forward then, giving Usagi's shoulder a squeeze. "Maybe he thought you were past that now?"

Ami nodded, "You guys seemed to be getting along when you came out just now."

Usagi started to shake her head, but then stopped herself. They had, hadn't they? But that was because Mamoru had felt so different, had felt so… _open_  to her. He had been warm inside the funhouse, and suddenly so  _so_  close. Not in terms of distance – no they had been physically close numerous times before – but psychologically? Spiritually? She didn't know how to term it, but for once she had felt like their history hadn't meant anything and they could just  _be_. It had been almost like they…but no.

Usagi shook her head again, "I mean we were having fun, yeah, but we weren't – I mean he didn't – "

"He  _likes_  you, Odango-brains," Rei gritted out through her teeth, "Why can't you just – "

Minako's hand on hers brought Rei up short, though, and they both watched Usagi wrap her arms around herself as if she was cold. As if to ward off…something.

The sun was shining, Usagi could see it reflecting off the tent poles and the food carts, off the metal bolts of the rides around them and Minako's tennis bracelet. The one Usagi had gotten for her last year for Christmas. The one she had found by accident. Why did it feel so cold all of a sudden?

"Usagi," Minako murmured, joining the other girls around her, "what about the club? I didn't push it last night because you were obviously upset, but I know something happened besides Seijuro. And Mamoru was  _clearly_  interested."

Usagi shook her head again, feeling as if that was all she could do. Why couldn't she do something else? Was she already shaking? "No. I mean, I did what you said. I-I was confident and-and sexy, but it wasn't me he was interested in. It was the dress and the hair and – and it wasn't me."

Why did the idea that he had only liked how she looked last night make her chest feel so empty and her heart sink? Why did she  _care_? She looked up at the girls and watched as even Rei's eyes softened, finding herself even closer to tears now. Why did they have to look so understanding? As if they thought that she…

She forced out a chuckle, hoping it didn't sound as much like a croak to everyone else, guiding her mind back down the list she had created for herself last night. She stopped at the end, "Besides, he was drunk."

"Usa, sweetie," Minako sounded a bit exasperated as she put her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders, "he was pretty much nursing like one beer the entire night. And I'm sure with his size he could have handled more than one just fine."

"And clubs aren't even his thing," Rei added, though more gently this time, "You know Mamoru always hated social events, even when he was in high school."

"He really does seem to like you, Usagi," Makoto murmured.

"N-No he doesn't." Usagi tried to wipe at her eyes without the girls noticing, but Ami handed her a tissue and she wasn't sure what stopped her from bursting into tears. Pride? Fear? The way her mind still felt slightly disconnected from her body? And her friends, how could they be so understanding and yet so-so blind? There was no way that Chiba Mamoru – tall, handsome, intelligent, rich, charismatic, sexy Mamoru was interested in someone like her. Why couldn't they just let it be?!

"Okay," Ami said slowly, in the voice she often reserved for a particularly difficult puzzle, "Okay, well then maybe you should see if he just wants to be friends?"

"Friends?" Usagi looked up, sniffling.

"Hey."

The girls all turned to find Reika walking towards them with Motoki in tow, holding more tickets. "We got them, five more each."

Both smiled at Usagi a little sadly and she bit back a sob as her heart clenched with guilt. They knew what had happened. They knew what an awful, terrible person she was.

Friends. Yes, that must have been it. He, being a mature and sensible adult, had probably decided they needed to stop their ridiculous arguing. He was probably tired of joking with her, of wasting his time on her. He had certainly been nicer to her lately. Taking the high road? Making amends? And she had thrown it back in his face, grounding his olive branch to dust.

How could the rest of them stand to be around her?

"Usagi, are you coming?"

Usagi looked up to see that she had followed the group toward one the high drop-towers without even paying attention to where they were going.

Makoto and Ami stood waiting for her as the others made their way to the back of the line.

Before she knew what she was doing, Usagi had backed up a few steps, shaking her head. "I'm actually not feeling very well, too much fair food, I guess." She gave her friends what she hoped was a convincing smile, "I think I'll sit this one out."

Makoto frowned, "You sure?"

Usagi nodded quickly, "Yeah, I'll just sit on the picnic benches over there and meet you when you're done."

"Do you want me to sit with you?" Ami asked, worriedly. Usagi didn't normally have trouble with food.

"No, I'll be fine." Usagi called over her shoulder, walking away before they could object, "You guys have fun!"

Sitting down she breathed a sigh of relief as Ami and Makoto finally seemed to accept her excuse and joined the others in line. Though she knew the food was sitting fine, she hadn't exactly been lying about feeling sick. Looking up at the ride, she had felt her stomach clench and flip uncomfortably.

They had been on the tower already once – Rei trying to cover her mouth as they jolted up and down, screaming the whole while about how Usagi was going to make her go deaf – she had liked it. Mamoru had helped her into her seat because the platform had been a bit high for her. She had liked that too. His hands skimming her waist, his breath in her ear—her stomach had dropped before they even left the ground.

She realized she wasn't going to be able to have any more fun today. She felt too sick for that – her palms sweaty, her stomach queasy, her temples throbbing with the ache to cry.

Was it guilt? That seemed to be the most easily recognizable emotion, dragging down her heart until it dangled in her gut. Guilt at how she had pushed him away just when it seemed he had opened up to her. Guilt at how she had cared more about what her friends thought, her own pride, than someone else's feelings. Guilt at the way his face had not looked blank or stiff – like it did when he was hiding his emotions – but just plain tired. Sad even? Oh, yes. She felt guilty.

But she also felt disappointed. It had been so nice in the funhouse, joking and laughing with him, leading him, taunting him. She had felt free in a way she only ever felt around her friends, but she had also felt warm. Her friends warmed her heart with their smiles and their hugs, but Mamoru seemed to warm even the tips of her fingers and toes.

And she was afraid. Afraid that she would never get that chance again, to laugh with him, to keep him close. They had changed in the funhouse and, truthfully, it had terrified her to be confronted with that change outside, her friends insinuating that they…that he actually… He didn't, but what if…?

He had been like a child inside the funhouse. Usagi had never seen that side of him before. He had always been studious, hard-working, determined, mature.  _Older_  than her in age and behavior – drinking coffee to her milkshakes, making A's to her C's or F's, chastising her for her immaturity. But today, today he had seemed so  _young_. Lighthearted and carefree.

And for a little while she had felt special. Like, somehow,  _she_  had done that for him.

Of course, that was ridiculous. She wasn't special to him. Usagi sighed and placed her chin in her hands, watching the people who passed by or stopped at the game booth next to her to throw small hoops around bottles, trying to win a prize.

He  _had_  been acting differently lately, though. Her mind flashed back to her recent conversations with her friends. Could they actually be right? Could he actually like her?

No, Usagi shook her head. She was at least sure about that. Still, he had been upset.

Usagi never really wanted to hurt him, even when they were younger! And how was she supposed to know he'd take it so seriously this time? How could what she'd said even matter? She knew they had said similar things, or worse, before. So why now? And why did the knowledge that she had hurt Mamoru, of all people, make her feel so miserable? Perhaps because she had finely seen what it was like to get along with him?

It had been so  _easy_  in the funhouse. Is that what it would mean to be his friend? And why did that idea hurt almost as much as the thought of them remaining enemies?

Usagi found her eyes following a young couple who walked by her to play for a stuffed animal, the boy towering over the girl even as he stooped to whisper in her ear, causing her to giggle.

What had changed?

As she mindlessly watched them both toss their hoops, jostling each other even as they rooted for their collective success, she went over the past few days in her head, everything she had done or said, searching for something to explain her oncoming headache, the writhing pit that was currently her stomach.

Perhaps something one of the girls had said? Every time she started to picture a scene with the girls, though, her brain would fast forward to the next time she had seen Mamoru, her mind latching onto and replaying for her the feel of his skin, the press of his body against her own, the heat of his breath on her neck, and his eyes – God his eyes – every time he looked at her: laughing or teasing or staring  _into_  her like he  _saw_  her.  _All_  of her. When had anyone ever looked at her like that but him? Making her feel so...confused. Broken and whole all at the same time. Seeing him again at the hotel, it was like time had stopped. Even when they were younger, when he was around everything else simply fell away until it was just them. Only them. And in those moments, all those years ago at the arcade before he opened his mouth to insult her, when his eyes were still shining in greeting, and again today in the funhouse, when his entire being had radiated joy, she could swear she felt...complete.

 _Oh, shit._ Usagi sat up straight with a gasp even as the couple cheered in triumph beside her. When had she fallen for Mamoru?

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." She mumbled to herself, rubbing her temples in a vain attempt to rid the thought from her mind, but she already knew it was too late. She liked Mamoru. A lot.

 _When the hell did this happen?_  she thought desperately, watching in morbid fascination as the couple kissed over their newly claimed prize. Was it in the funhouse? No, that had just been something new, something precious that had made it more real. Was it at the club with its almost kiss? No, that moment had just made her come to terms with her attraction. Maybe at the Crown? Well that didn't make sense, they hadn't  _done_  anything! The hotel? No, that had just been positively mortifying, meaning that she had already…had always… _It's been that long?!_

Usagi groaned, slumping against the picnic table.

It all made sense now. The reasons his insults had hurt so much, but the disappointment she had felt whenever he  _wasn't_  there to insult her. The reason his face had haunted her dreams so much, how she had been jealous of the idea of him dating, and really  _really_ missed him when he left for America. But she hadn't realized…

Usagi groaned again. She definitely didn't want to be at the carnival anymore. What the heck was she supposed to do now? Not only did he hate her, but he was leaving tomorrow!

"Usagi-chan!"

Usagi looked up to find Makoto waving her over from the exit of the ride. Standing up, Usagi did her best to compose herself, wondering if she looked any different after this life-shattering epiphany. Her mother said her face was extremely expressive and her friends had always had an uncanny ability to read her.  _I like Chiba Mamoru_  could be plastered all over her forehead for all she knew!

It became apparent the closer she got, however, that she didn't have to worry, the others being a bit distracted helping a positively seething Rei clean up what appeared to be someone else's partially digested lunch off her shirt.

"I cannot believe this!" Rei shrieked, as Usagi arrived in front of them, "That little brat ruined my new shirt!"

"He didn't mean to, Rei," Motoki soothed, while Ami and Reika made ample use of the napkin dispenser at a nearby food truck and Minako looked on from a safe distance away. "It was an accident."

"Yeah," Makoto said, nodding and, Usagi noticed, fighting back a grin, "I think it's safe to say that he felt  _really_ bad."

Luckily for Mako-chan, Rei was too busy cursing to notice her joke or there may have been another casualty added to that of the shirt.

Usagi tried to be upset for Rei, but she was more excited with the idea that now they could leave the fair because – as Rei declared quite adamantly - there was no way she was going to walk around like  _that_.

"It's probably for the best," Motoki said, as he and Reika walked with Usagi toward the exit, the others trailing behind and trying to talk Rei out of suing the fair's owners. "It was getting a little late anyway and – oh, that's my phone."

Reika took Usagi's arm in hers as Motoki wandered a few feet away to answer a call. "Did you have fun today, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi looked up at Reika and smiled. She remembered being broken-hearted when she first found out Motoki had a girlfriend - that moment felt so long ago now - but over the years they had become good friends, and Usagi enjoyed when they all got to be together. She had been ecstatic when they got engaged and had been promised a spot in their wedding. Looking up into Reika's face now, she found she wasn't lying when she said, "I did."

Oh, if she could rewind time she might change a few things about today, but if she did she might not have realized how she felt, and while Usagi didn't exactly  _understand_ her feelings, she knew ignoring them would do no good. Besides, maybe now that she knew how she felt, she could regulate her feelings better. No matter what her friends said, she knew he couldn't really be attracted to her, but he had seemed to want to be friends. Part of her wondered if that could be enough, but the rest knew it would have to be. She didn't want to lose him again.

"Oh man."

She and Reika looked up to find Motoki walking back towards them with his brows creased as he pocketed his phone.

"What is it, sweetie?" Reika asked, worriedly.

"That was Mamoru," Motoki said, and Usagi tried to ignore the way her heart leapt in her chest, "He said he just heard from his people back in Kyoto. They want to give him the CEO position there."

Just as quickly, it plummeted back into her stomach. Kyoto?

"What?" Reika sounded surprised, "But I thought he didn't think he could be promoted there?"

"He can't be right away. The current CEO just announced he'll be retiring in a little over a year, though, so they want him to take the job afterwards, since he knows the company. They knew he was applying here, but apparently, they want him to stay. He'd have to wait a little longer, but it might be easier for him, you know, to stay where he is."

"Oh," Reika sounded disappointed and Usagi could tell Motoki was too. The thought of having his best friend so close must have been exciting for him. Usagi wasn't disappointed, however, she was  _devastated_. What if Mamoru decided it wasn't worth the hassle and decided to stay in Kyoto? How could she set things right if he left? Would he even come back to Tokyo? To see Motoki, maybe, but her? She'd never see him again! And his last memory of her would be…no. She couldn't let that happen. She wanted, no,  _needed_  him to leave with the knowledge that they were friends. It would have to be enough.

"Can I have his number?" she blurted out.

From the looks on their faces, Usagi realized she must have interrupted the conversation that had continued without her, but she was too desperate to even feel embarrassed. "Please, Motoki. I don't want him to leave without having apologized for how I acted today."

They had stopped walking, having gotten a bit ahead of the others, and Motoki looked at Usagi thoughtfully.

Finally, he nodded, "I can give you his number, Usagi, but I know Mamoru and if you really want him to hear you out, you'll want to do it in person."

"But he's leaving – "

Motoki held up his hand to cut her off. "Reika and I are getting brunch with him tomorrow at ten at  _The Robin's Egg_ , before he leaves. It's only a couple blocks from the arcade?"

He waited until she nodded, indicating she knew what he was referring to. "He'll probably be there ten minutes early or so. We'll be arriving late."

Usagi looked up at him, puzzled, even as Reika grinned next to her. "Late? But isn't that a bit rude to – "

"He'll be  _early_  and we'll be  _late_." Motoki repeated slowly, his eyes wide with intention.

Usagi stared at him a few more moments before his meaning dawned on her. "Oooooh! Okay, Motoki, thank you so – "

"I have no idea what you mean, Usagi," Motoki said, turning towards the exit with a grin, as the others came up behind them. "I haven't done anything. This is  _all_  on you."

Usagi smiled at the couple as they bid their goodbyes to the others and then walked with Minako and Rei across the lot. She leant a sympathetic ear to Rei's moaning and allowed Minako to push her into the front seat so her friend could be as far away from the mess as possible, laughing when Rei noticed and threatened to throw her shirt in the back, other drivers' eyes be damned. She even sang obnoxiously to the radio with Minako until Rei finally joined in.

The entire time, though, her thoughts were elsewhere, and when she walked back into her apartment, her steps were determined and she refused to allow herself to feel disheartened. So what if Mamoru remained in Kyoto? They would part on good terms and Usagi would continue living her life as she had before she realized she liked him. She had done it once, she could do it again. She grimaced at the pang in her chest at this thought. She had done it before, yes, but she hadn't known then. She could already tell it would not be as easy now that she knew. Now that she had felt how good it could be. Now that she wanted more.

Usagi shook her head. She would deal with that hurt when the time came. And if he moved to Tokyo and they were only friends? That would at least be better than not having him in her life at all.

Usagi nodded firmly. She was going to make this right.

Now she just had to figure out what, exactly, she was supposed to say to him…

She groaned. It was going to be a sleepless night.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, I now have a chapter count! There will be 3 more chapters after this and an epilogue :)

 

Usagi turned the corner near the arcade with a sigh. Two long hours of nervous planning, two brief minutes tearing up every awful line she had written, one useless hour of frustrated wailing followed by another frantic hour of digging through her closet for something to wear, another two devoted to reorganizing her bookshelf in the hope that a solution would magically present itself, and finally three hours of restless sleep filled with dreams of beautiful women with brown hair, disappearing Mamorus, and corndogs… And here she was, walking towards  _The Robin's Egg_  feeling like she had a very bad hangover.

Scratch that, even yesterday when she had an  _actual_  hangover she felt better than this. Of course, the promise of food and fun tended to cure any illness she might have. But now…

In one sense, she was exhausted. Even her hair had seemed tired this morning, hanging limply around her shoulders until she decided just to pull it into a ponytail and be done with it. The dark circles under her eyes had been a little harder to ignore, but after a bit of foundation they at least looked a little less…gross. In another sense, however, she had never felt so awake in her life – high-strung and anxious, she didn't even remember being this nervous for her job interview!

Breathing slowly through her nose like Rei had taught her years ago when she wanted to learn meditation (that had  _not_  gone well), she tried to sooth her thumping heart. When that didn't work, she pressed her hands against her chest as if worried it might leap through the soft blue shirt she had decided to wear. Feeling it beating like a jackhammer against her breastbone, she grimaced.  _Why does that Baka have to make everything so hard?_

With a huff, she smoothed her shirt back down and allowed herself a brief glance at her reflection as she past a department store window. She had paired the shirt with a simple white cardigan and jeans. Nothing fancy, but Ami said the shirt brought out her eyes nicely and Makoto always complimented her sweater when she wore it. Plus, Minako said the jeans made her look like she actually had a butt, so that was a plus!

Usagi shook her head at her own thoughts and groaned. She didn't need him checking her out, she just needed him to give her a chance to apologize! Still, if the jeans gave her a bit more confidence, could she really be faulted for wearing them?

Pushing thoughts away from her appearance, she moved her hands to her side and wiped her palms against her jeans for what had to be the fifteenth time since she left her apartment. Usagi had made sure to give herself plenty of time to arrive before Motoki and Reika. She couldn't help but think this might be the only chance she got. If he took the job in Kyoto then… She shook her head.  _Then he will have left knowing that I don't actually hate him! Maybe even that I…What?_  She asked herself, rolling her eyes,  _Like him? You can't tell him that! It will just scare him away!_

The last thing Usagi wanted was for Mamoru to see her as just another girl who had fallen in love with him. She was sure he got that a lot –  _the prick_ , she added with a sniff. Well she wasn't like them! No-siree! So she had finally fallen for him, so what? She hadn't done it because he was hot, or had a good job, or was probably rich enough to buy her whole damn apartment building. She had seen his car – she knew!  _The prick…_  No, she had fallen for him because when he smiled she knew he meant it, because when he laughed it made her heart leap into her throat and her toes curl, because even when his mouth said one thing his eyes said another and she had always loved his eyes… She had fallen for him because he was  _him_  – he was Mamoru; the annoying, cold, heartless, sweet, intoxicating, intense, confusing, damn-sexy bastard who made her want to laugh and cry all at the same time, who teased her mercilessly and yet, if the club and the carnival were any sign, seemed to actually care about her enough to want to be something  _besides_ enemies...

And she was going to apologize to him and be his goddamn friend even if it killed her!

Nodding decisively, Usagi picked up her pace and, in a matter of minutes, found herself outside the cute, rather quirky café Motoki had discovered a couple years ago. It was certainly painted the shade of a robin's egg and it served the most mouth-watering French toast she had ever had and they did this thing with their omelets where –  _no Usagi focus!_

She mentally shook herself, reaching for the door, then stopped short, having noticed a shock of black hair at a table in the back.

In an instant, her determination deflated like that soufflé Makoto had tried to help her make and she took two involuntary steps backward until only her eyes peeked around the corner of the building through the window.

Damn, but he looked good. Wearing a blue dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he leaned over a mug of what Usagi could only assume was coffee while reading a newspaper. If he looked up, she was sure the shirt would be only a little darker than his eyes and they might widen in surprise at seeing her and then crinkle as his mouth split into a boyish smile… And he might put aside his paper and offer her a seat and they'd sit across from each other, knees bumping because his legs are so damn long, but she wouldn't mind and she would order the French Toast and he would get the omelet knowing she'd want some of that too and he would tease her for her sugar intake and she'd make fun of him for his coffee addiction and they'd laugh and talk about everything and nothing, and his laugh would rumble in her chest and his smile would warm her fingertips and his touch when he reached for her would make her head buzz as if she'd drank his coffee for him and –

Usagi winced and ducked away from the window, leaning her forehead against the cool stone of the building.  _Stop it_ , she begged her imagination,  _I can't think about that right now!_   _Or maybe ever…_

The idea of walking inside and accepting Mamoru's hope of friendship felt about as pleasant as cutting off her own hair at the moment. She knew that he would probably accept her apology all too easily, because that was the mature thing to do…and then what? What would become of them? He might stay in Kyoto and she would hear of him through Motoki, maybe see him every few years if he decided to visit again. And if he moved back, who's to say it would be any different? She had seen a lot of him lately, but he would be working once he was here—busy with his new job, his new coworkers, starting his life again in a different city even if it had once been his home. And if they did become friends, they might never fight again—she might never have another excuse to be so close to him that their hair brushed and their breath mingled. She might have to watch him fall in love…

Squeezing her eyes shut against her oncoming tears, Usagi wrapped her arms around herself and clutched her sweater in her fists. How could that thought hurt her so much when she hadn't even realized she cared until yesterday?!

 _But didn't I care before?_ she thought, remembering the days spent sulking in the Crown when Mamoru left for America,  _Didn't I?_

 _Maybe now_ , a little voice in her mind whispered back,  _you're simply strong enough to admit it._

She wondered what the girls would say when they found out... They would probably all preen for a couple minutes knowing they had been right, or at least Mina and Rei would, and they would probably insist for a while that Mamoru was still interested in her. But once she convinced them that was definitely not true – and she would – she knew exactly what they'd do. Rei would tell her to suck it up and be an adult and then promptly book them a frivolous day at the spa, Minako would insist on more retail therapy, Makoto would bake her a giant cake, and Ami would compile a list of the newest movies most likely to lift her spirits, which they would all promptly rent and binge, if not together then at the same time.

She smiled a bit to herself at the thought. With friends like hers, she knew she would be okay.

Wiping at her eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to count Mamoru amongst her friends like that. Right now, she couldn't even begin to imagine it, but if she knew one thing about herself it was that while being his friend might hurt, never seeing him again would be a hell of a lot worse.

Taking one more deep breath, she pushed herself away from the wall.

She could do this. She had to.

* * *

 

Mamoru pinched the bridge of his nose and suppressed a groan. The news  _sucked_. Now, not only was his own life going to shit, but apparently the entire world was too!

At that thought, he snorted softly and rolled his eyes. When did he become so dramatic? He sounded a bit like a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman that he was  _not_  going to think about today. Of course, he had already lost count of the number of times he had failed on that front, even just since he had entered the restaurant and sat down. Mamoru clenched his eyes shut and then blinked them open, trying to focus back on the article about polar ice caps melting, but all the words just blurred together.

Whether from stress or exhaustion, he honestly wasn't sure, but he felt like  _shit_. Hence, the shot of expresso he had added to his coffee this morning. Though, from the dull throbbing behind his eyes and the way he couldn't seem to focus on anything, he felt like it might not be helping at all. Not to mention he was worried it was giving him heartburn…

Motoki would probably tell him that wasn't heartburn he was feeling, but look how much Motoki had gotten wrong! So Usagi had practically ripped out his heart and then spit at his feet. So what? He had tons to be happy about! He wouldn't hear back from the bank in Tokyo until tomorrow, but he had already been guaranteed the CEO position in Kyoto, meaning he didn't really even  _need_  the Tokyo position. Most people would kill to be in his shoes! And he might even get the Tokyo position, which would be another notch in his belt even though he wasn't going to take it. Because he wasn't going to take it. Right?

Mamoru rubbed his hands over his eyes and leaned back in his chair. This was one of his issues. He had originally applied to the position in Tokyo because it would give him a chance to move up and make a bigger difference in the company. Now he had been given that option where he already was. His main reason for moving no longer applied. Was the Tokyo bank a bit bigger? Yes, but it would also come with the hassle of working with a whole new set of people who didn't know him or trust him, and whom he would probably have to feel out for  _years_  before they could work together efficiently. And the employees there were all relatively young. Granted, so was he, but that didn't necessarily mean they would mesh well together. It made absolutely no sense to leave a place where he was already established and comfortable and successful. So why was he actually considering it? Why was he actually thinking about uprooting his life, starting over in a new city with new employees and new expectations, adding mounds of stress to his workload with a transition he didn't even  _need_  now, for a girl who didn't even  _like_  him?!

Because he was. God help him, he was.

And that was his other issue: Usagi.

What was it about her that made him act so unlike himself? Because this wasn't him. He had barely slept last night from dreaming about her, his stomach was tied so tightly in knots he didn't think he could stomach anything other than coffee even if he had promised to meet Motoki and Reika for brunch, and sometimes, when his movements generated a slight breeze, he swore he could smell lavender.

He felt like he was coming undone.

Part of him hoped he didn't get the Tokyo job. Then he wouldn't be tempted to drop everything and move back here just to have the chance to see her again. Because what if he did? Her feelings for him obviously weren't going to change. She hated him. He couldn't say he blamed her completely – he hadn't always been the nicest person to her – but why couldn't she have seen that he was trying? That he wanted to change? That he wanted  _them_  to change? Perhaps he had been asking too much.

And now, if he moved back, she might expect them to stay exactly the same. Could he go back to fighting with her all the time? Get so close to her on a regular basis only to realize, like a punch in the gut, that he could never actually take her into his arms like he so desperately wanted? Maybe, over time, she would soften up, let him in. But he knew better than to hope now. She didn't want anything more from him. Friends? Maybe someday, but that would be it. Someday she'd be on the dance floor with someone she actually wanted close to her, touching her, kissing her…

A soft ahem to his right had Mamoru glancing over to see a rather small old lady raising her eyebrows at him. When he simply continued to stare at her blankly, she pointedly looked down at his fist and he, upon following her lead, realized he had practically shredded the Editorial section.

With an embarrassed smile, he quickly turned the page to hide the evidence of his jealousy and took a sip of his coffee, pasting on his best  _nothing-to-see-here_ expression.

After a moment, the woman seemed to accept this and turned away, leaving Mamoru to continue torturing himself in peace.

Fighting the urge to bang his head against the table, he settled instead for a quiet sigh. As much as he didn't want to talk about any of this with  _anyone_ , perhaps Motoki and Reika could help. Of course, they might still try to insist he give Usagi a chance and he  _really_  couldn't handle that right now… perhaps staying in Kyoto was best, for his own health. He felt so tightly wound at the moment; as if, with the slightest additional pressure, he might fall apart, and he  _hated_  that feeling. Staying in Kyoto would provide him with a clean break. He might never have to see her again. In Tokyo, there was no chance for that. He knew it wouldn't be easy, staying away, but it would be for the best. It would –

The soft ring of the bell above the door interrupted his thoughts, and he steeled himself for the concerned faces of his friends, but when he glanced up it wasn't them he saw.

His heart stopped and then immediately began beating in double time.

What was she doing here?! God, she looked so beautiful talking quietly to the waitress who had met her at the door, gesturing toward his table – dressed as if for a walk in the park, her hair up in a loose ponytail that somehow made her look so mature, with a soft white sweater and a blue shirt he could already tell matched her eyes and  _damn_  but those jeans were really working for her... He had to admit now that the aching in his chest definitely wasn't heartburn as it flared up hot within him, squeezing his heart and clamping his throat shut tight until he could barely swallow, even as his lower body began to stir.

How the  _hell_  had she found him? And what the hell was she doing –  _Motoki_ , his mind growled.

It all made sense now. This was  _Usagi_. As blind as she might have been to his actual intentions toward her, there was no way she would have missed his emotions when he left the fair the other day. Normally he could mask everything so well, but he had just felt so goddamn tired. And Usagi, who couldn't hurt a fly, probably felt awful, even if it  _was_ only him. It would be so natural for her to want to fix things. She probably felt extremely guilty about it all. And Motoki must have talked to her – damn him! Why couldn't he stop meddling for once in his life and leave Mamoru alone?! Seeing her again, so suddenly, he could practically feel his resolve for a clean break crumbling around him.

She was turning towards him now and he could see the worry and uncertainty in her eyes, welling up from whatever unending spring of goodness she possessed. God, this was all just  _too damn much!_  Here she was, walking toward him like one of his sick fantasies, probably ready with some heartfelt apology that he would immediately accept because this was  _Usagi_ , but dammit that wasn't fair! How did she do that?! How did she make him feel so full and yet so empty, knowing that her worry wasn't for him, not really, not like he needed it to be. Motoki had probably laid the guilt on real thick too, making her feel even worse and now here she was, about to drown him in his own feelings for the third time in only three days and –

No. No, no, no, no,  _no_. Who the hell did she think she was to have this kind of power over him? Who the hell was she to make him, Chiba Mamoru, so  _weak_?! This wasn't who he was! This wasn't what he wanted! He didn't need this!

She wanted to apologize? Fine. He would listen, she would leave, and he would move on. He just needed to keep his distance, pull on his well-worn mask, keep aloof, and then get the  _hell_ out of Tokyo. Sitting up straighter, he allowed himself to fall into the indifferent role he was used to inhabiting with other businessmen and strangers. In her presence, it didn't quite fit him like he was used to – pushing against his skin, itching his conscience – but he ignored it and watched, with his best bored expression, as she stopped in front of him, clutching her sweater in her small, warm hands.

At her nearness, the smell of lavender washed over him, soft and calming, and he almost changed his mind, but then he steeled himself against it. Against her.

He could do this. He had to.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to leave you guys hanging for so long - I've been a bit all over the place lately... but I hope you like this update ;)

Usagi tried not to wince as she watched Mamoru's expression change from one of shock to one of indifference as she approached him, not unlike that which he had often worn ten years ago when she or Motoki weren't around to make him smile. It was the expression he used with strangers, with other people, people who weren't  _her_. She had never really thought about what it might be like to be on the other end of it. She found it left her oddly cold.

Stopping in front of him, she tried not to notice how he didn't move his paper, leaving it sprawled across the table as if to deny her entrance, as if to keep her away. Clutching her sweater tightly in her fists, she struggled to remember what she had planned to say. His eyes, usually so expressive, were now so…blank. What was he thinking?

Perhaps she was quiet for too long, she honestly wasn't sure, but suddenly his voice was rumbling towards her and she snapped to attention.

"Tsukino-san. Good morning."

Usagi felt her mouth drop open and while some distant part of her brain registered that she must look ridiculous, she didn't think she could close it even if, in that moment, her mother appeared to spoon feed her cough syrup. Because that? That  _hurt_. Tsukino-san? What the heck, were they business associates now?! She felt her heart grow heavy. Maybe he had decided he didn't even want to deal with her anymore…that she wasn't worth the trouble even of being his friend...

 _Close your mouth, Usagi, you're catching flies_ , her mind chided her, sounding far too much like Rei. But it did help and she managed to do so, swallowing painfully around the lump that had decided to spontaneously form in her throat.

"Mamor-" she stopped with a cough, "Chiba-san."

 _Did I flinch? Could he see that?_  Usagi felt like she must have because god that just felt so  _wrong_. And it signaled exactly the opposite of what she came here to say! No, she had to show him that she wanted to be friends and that started  _now_.

With a renewed sense of purpose, she straightened her shoulders and said firmly, "Mamoru- _kun_. I came to find you today because I wanted to apologize."

She waited for some sign that her words had registered, had meant something, but he simply continued to stare at her, hands folded in front of him as if this entire thing bored him. Worse, his eyes now looked arrogant, cocky, and cold. Like she wasn't worth his time. Like she wasn't worth listening to. Usagi hated it.

Looking away from them, she focused on the collar of his shirt instead, determined to forge ahead. The faster she got this over with, the faster Mamoru would be back to normal. She had decided to stick with a simple apology—nothing over-emotional, like she might use with her friends. He would probably hate that.

"I realized after you left the fair yesterday that how I behaved was not only rude, but also wrong. Especially after the fun we had together. And, well, it has come to my attention that you wish to be friends and – "

She thought she heard him snort lightly, but quickly pushed the thought aside and finished in a rush, "and I would like that too."

She waited with baited breath for his answer, but still couldn't bring herself to look back at his eyes. Were they warmer now?  _C'mon Mamo-chan…_

Frustratingly, his voice revealed nothing, "You want to be friends?"

"Yes."  _Technically…_

"With me?"

"Yes…"  _He's not normally this dense…_

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I – wait, what?" Usagi's eyes whipped up to his face, then, shocked to see that he looked completely serious and, still, completely bored. "Yes, I do!"

Mamoru shook his head and she swore she saw a glimmer of something in his eyes before it disappeared, "Save it, Usagi, you made it very clear how you felt about me at the fair yesterday."

"But I didn't mean any of that!" she replied, fighting to keep the desperation out of her voice. This was  _not_ how she had expected this to go. "And I felt awful afterwards – "

"Oh, and you thought you'd come down here to clear your conscience?" Mamoru rolled his eyes, and if Usagi wasn't starting to get pissed off at his responses she might have been excited to see him finally showing some emotion. "Well then fine, I forgive you. Better?"

"What?!" She heard herself squawk.  _Is he serious?! I'm only trying to apologize, why the hell is he making this so damn difficult?_

Usagi was about to lay into him when a loud 'ahem' to her right reminded her of their environment. With a huff, she pushed herself into the seat across from him and leaned forward with a glare.

"No not  _'better'_ " she hissed, "I came down here because we were having fun the other day and then I – "

She watched him raise his eyebrow with skepticism, but pushed ahead before he could interrupt her, "I screwed it up. And I am apologizing because I don't want you to leave thinking I hate you because I  _don't_."

Punctuating each word with a sharp poke to his paper, she tried to get it through his thick skull, "I  _want_  to be your friend!"

Usagi felt herself breathing a bit heavy, but refused to relax. During her small tirade, Mamoru had leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, but his face remained impassive and he appeared to be studying her. She had never liked when he did that. It made her feel young.

After a couple moments, he finally spoke, and his words immediately made her want to crawl back into her bed and never come out. "What makes you think I'd want to be friends with you?"

Usagi could feel herself shrinking – her shoulders sinking along with her confidence, because of course. Of course, he didn't want to be friends with her. Who had she been kidding?

"Oh, right."

Her voice suddenly sounded small and weak, but at least she wasn't crying. Rei would be proud of her for that.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume it's just you'd – well you've been acting differently lately or, well, my friends and I thought – or at least they thought – " her throat was aching and she could feel the tears building now as she fought to form a coherent sentence, "never mind what they thought, but Ami – Ami suggested we might be friends and then it seemed like maybe that's why, why you were being nice to me when – "

"Ami said that?"

Usagi looked up to see Mamoru with both eyebrows raised and then he snorted derisively. "And here I thought Ami was the smart one."

The last bit was muttered, but she heard it. Plain as day. Along with his meaning... He didn't care about her. He probably never had. She felt like such an idiot.

Holding herself together as best as she could, Usagi pushed back her chair, "Well then, I'm sorry I wasted your time this morning. I just thought – " she shook her head to cut herself off and quickly got to her feet. She had to get out of here before she broke down completely. "Goodbye, Mamoru."

She had only taken one step, however, when a warm hand encased her wrist and brought her to a stop.

"Usagi, wait."

She tried not to cringe as she felt him come up behind her, his body warm against her back, just like at the club. God, why couldn't he just let her leave?

His next words were lower, gentler, yet somehow, they hurt her even more. "I'm sorry"

He was pulling at her hand then, softly but insistently trying to turn her to face him. She hadn't actively started crying yet, but she knew he would be able to tell she was going to. Funny how the first time she saw him after ten years she ended up crying and now that's how he would remember her when he left. No wonder he thought she was a crybaby.

"Usagi," he said again and she allowed herself to turn slightly, hoping it would make him let her go, her eyes fixed pointedly at the floor.

Forcing back her tears, she gave a small shrug, "I should have known you didn't. I mean we have absolutely nothing in common," she gave a small laugh, hoping it didn't sound too forced, "Why would you want to be friends with someone like me?"

For a brief moment, Mamoru's hand tightened hard on her wrist, but then it relaxed. Taking advantage of this, she started to slip from his grip, "At least it's not as crazy as what my friends thought."

In an instant, his grip was back and she fought a frown. Why couldn't he ever leave her with at least  _some_  dignity?

"What did your friends think?" His voice sounded slightly strangled, but she didn't really notice. Maybe if she stamped on his foot she could make a run for it?

Pulling at her arm a bit to test his grip, she shook her head, "It doesn't matter."

The hand on her wrist suddenly pulled her backwards and, with a gasp, she stumbled toward him, her nose almost colliding with his breastbone.

"Usagi, what did – "

"Mamoru, please it doesn't – "

"Usako," he murmured, causing her words to dry up and her eyes to leap up to his, "What did your friends think?"

Usagi tried desperately to process what he had just said, but her brain and her mouth appeared to have disconnected and so she could only stutter out, "They – well they thought – but you don't, so…"

And he was staring at her with that expression in his eyes she had seen so often the past few days, but hadn't been able to read, but now it seemed to radiate out of him, pulling at her heart and causing her legs to turn to jelly.

She felt herself slowly shaking her head, not able to believe, to think… "You can't."

Mamoru's other hand brushed across her cheek, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear; so gentle, so warm and – and –

"Can't what?" he whispered.

She opened her mouth but there were no words there anyway, so she simply watched him, finally understanding  _exactly_  what his eyes had been telling her the whole time.

In response, her own eyes narrowed.

"You've  _got_  to be  _kidding_  me!"

Usagi watched with satisfaction as Mamoru winced and stumbled back a few steps, groaning, "Dammit, Odango, lower the decibels!"

Ha! As if her volume should really surprise him. No, there was something  _actually_  surprising here and it definitely wasn't her!

"You  _like_  me?!" she screeched.

Mamoru stared at her, looking flabbergasted. Oh, was he confused now? Well he could join the damn club!

His confusion didn't last long, however, as his shoulders hunched towards his ears in anger. "So what if I do? You don't need to go screaming about it!"

She snorted, "Well how exactly do you expect me to react? It's not like you've ever showed interest in me before!"

Mamoru spluttered, "What?! What do you think I've been doing the last few days?"

"Driving me insane, like you always have!"

His mouth opened and closed like a fish, but she could only appreciate his ridiculous appearance for a moment and then he was in her face, brandishing his fingers fiercely as he began to count them off, "I grabbed the elevator to see you. I went to Motoki's to see you. I went to the club to see you. I went to the fair to see  _you._  I've been following you around like a goddamn puppy! What more was I supposed to do? Hold up a giant sign saying 'I LIKE YOU'?"

Usagi could feel the stares of the other patrons itching at her skin, but they were surprisingly easy to ignore when a prickly Baka was standing in front of her trying to act like  _she_  was the idiot here!

"Well it may have helped," she spit out, poking him firmly in his chest, "if you'd at least spoken to me like a civil human being, but noooo! You had to continue to mock me and insult me and treat me exactly like you did when I was a kid! How the hell was I supposed to realize this is any different than before?!"

"It's not!" Mamoru yelled back, his hands forming fists in his hair, "I've  _always_  liked you!"

Okay, that one shut her up.

Usagi watched with surprise and a bit of worry as Mamoru began to pace back and forth in the limited space afforded between his table and the next. Normally she might have laughed at the appalled look of the old woman sitting at said table, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the man now falling apart before her. She had never seen Mamoru look so…disturbed.

"I know I haven't been very clear about my feelings for you. I'm not good at talking to people or having" he gesticulated widely, "emotions. I've never known how to tell you how I feel. Hell, I didn't even know how I felt myself until two days ago!" she watched him clutch at his hair again, "But it's been there for-for  _years_ and how screwed up is that that I didn't even know?!" one of his hands moved to his shirt front, twisting in the fabric, before returning to his hair, "Motoki knew and your friends knew, but  _I_ didn't know, which is ridiculous! And even when I knew I couldn't stop teasing you because it's easy and you look so pretty when you're red – but that's not – I mean that isn't what I meant – I mean – well, see your face is – and-and you smell like lavender and it – what I mean is – "

As Usagi watched him pace – hair mussed, shirt wrinkled, hands unable to stop moving – she found herself grow calm. It was odd how seeing Mamoru come undone in front of her suddenly made everything in her own heart make sense. Because, really, this entire situation was quite easily resolved.

"Mamoru," she called and he stopped pacing to stare at her, his face solemn, his eyes lost. She felt herself smile, "You are the biggest idiot I have ever met in my entire life."

In the time it took for her to reach him, he only managed to blink twice, and then she was twining her arms around his neck and bringing his lips down to hers.

She was proud to note that he only stayed frozen for approximately two seconds before wrapping his arms around her and returning the favor. And then she quite lost all coherent thought.

* * *

 

Outside the café, a man whooped in glee as a woman snapped photos with her phone.

"I knew it! I  _knew_  they liked each other! YES! I am the king! I am the god of love! I AM KING CUPID!"

Reika snorted and spared a glance at Motoki before turning back to her screen. "Yes, yes - congratulations, honey. Now would you calm down and take a video from the other window? We'll need multiple shots of this for their wedding."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo this chapter was incredibly hard to write because it is like THE chapter. The chapter with the emotions and the climactic resolution and the first kiss and UGH it felt like a lot of pressure! It could have gone a number of ways – I actually originally wrote it with both Mamoru and Usagi's minds open to narration, but that just got WAY too complicated and jumbled. That said, I always welcome feedback and I invite you all to imagine this scene however you want if my own rendition has disappointed you. I really hope not, but scenes like this never please everyone because now we've lived with the story for months and have our own expectations for how it should go. Just know that I wrote and rewrote and rewrote it again, so please go easy on me...
> 
> And remember, there will be more :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I have such a random updating schedule...

The kiss was…well it was  _amazing_. How had she ever even considered kisses before this good?! They were nothing,  _nothing_  compared to Mamoru's lips and, dear lord, his tongue –  _his tongue_  – and even just the incommensurable feeling of being wrapped in his arms and pressed against his deliciously warm body… Why hadn't they done this sooner?

Her legs had started to feel like jelly as he smoothed his hand down her back and when his tongue had first dipped between her lips she was fairly certain the moan she let out was completely involuntary. And when he gave his own small groan into her mouth her knees really would have given out if Mamoru hadn't partially lifted her off the floor already. Every once in a while, her toes would register the feeling of hard wood beneath them, but she honestly didn't think they would have supported her weight if he had set her down. Instead, one of his beautiful, warm, distracting hands was now wrapped tightly around her waist while the other alternated between clutching and caressing her neck, cheek, and hair. All in all, Usagi was pretty sure she had never felt so close to heaven before in her life.

In the midst of this new bliss, Usagi registered a faint buzzing in her ears, but quickly pushed it aside, thinking it was merely the sound of her brain completely shutting down through lack of oxygen – and she could think of worse ways to die – but soon enough she heard it get louder, and then it became accompanied by an insistent tapping on her arm.

"-cuse me? Excuse me?!"

With what she considered to be a rather pleasant popping sound, Usagi managed to disengage her mouth from Mamoru's and turned her head to regard the now very red-faced waitress who had apparently been trying to gain their attention for quite some time.

"I'm sorry, what?" Usagi tried to say, but with Mamoru nuzzling at her neck, it came out more like "msa-wha?"

"I said, I'm going to need you two to stop that and order something or I'll have to ask you to leave!"

At that, Mamoru finally seemed to recall exactly where they were and removed his lips from Usagi's collarbone long enough to glance around them with a sheepish grin. Usagi, however, immediately felt her skin break into a blush deep enough to rival the waitress's, and hurriedly pushed herself out of Mamoru's arms. Thankfully, her embarrassment had pushed some feeling back into her legs.

"Right, yes, I'm sorry, we weren't – I mean, this wasn't supposed to – umm…" Usagi stuttered, fitfully smoothing the wrinkles out of her shirt even as she frantically avoided the eye of the old lady currently muttering angrily next to them. After catching the words "disgusting tramp" and "man-whore," she decided not to listen too closely.

"We're terribly sorry about this," Mamoru smoothly cut in, giving the waitress a winning smile as he placed his hand on Usagi's back and began to gently guide her towards his table, "It won't happen again."

They had only made it a few steps, however, before the woman managed to scramble back in front of them.

"Perhaps," she suggested, through gritted teeth, "one of our tables  _outside_  would be better?"

* * *

 

"That was absolutely  _mortifying_."

Mamoru tried not to smirk at Usagi as the waitress left with their orders. She was different than the one that had banished them outside, but this girl seemed just as wary about leaving them alone. She had stayed by their table the entire time they examined the menus as if without her there they would rip each other's clothes off and start rutting on the sidewalk.

Not that he hadn't imagined doing just that, but that really wasn't the way to start a relationship.

A relationship with  _Usagi._

He did smirk then, his inner voice chanting  _Chiba! Chiba!_  even as he gave himself a mental high-five.

"I don't know," he responded, leaning forward and catching her eye. "I thought it was pretty amazing myself."

A thrill of triumph and desire shot through him at the resulting blush that spread across her face along with her guilty grin. God, but she was beautiful.

Usagi gave a small cough in response and took a sip of water and, leaning back in his chair, Mamoru wondered if a silly grin would now be permanently affixed to his face. It might not be great for business, but he thought he could live with that.

"Oh!"

Mamoru watched as Usagi's brows furrowed and she set her glass down. She had such an expressive face.

"Weren't you supposed to have brunch with Motoki and Reika?"

 _Oh right_ … For a while there, Mamoru had quite forgotten that anyone else existed.

Perhaps his expression gave it away, because Usagi immediately looked distressed. "Oh no, I screwed that up, didn't I? They said they'd be late, but if they saw me here they may have left, but you're going to leave town and who knows when you'll be back! We should call them and I can leave and – "

"Woah, whoa, Usa! Calm down, it's fine." Mamoru chuckled, "I'll just text Motoki and we'll figure this out. And you – " he stated firmly, " – are not going anywhere."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but then the sound of her stomach growling quickly snapped her mouth shut. Her wince of embarrassment only made it that much more adorable and he wondered when his cheeks would start aching. Probably soon.

Pulling out his phone he quickly unlocked it to find a text from Motoki:

_Reika and I noticed that you and Usagi were a little…busy ;) We'll catch up with you later!_

And one right after it saying:

_You can thank me then._

With a chuckle, Mamoru slid his phone away. "You don't have to worry about Motoki and Reika – they have other plans now. And besides, I have the feeling I'll be back in town very soon."

"Are you thinking you might…take the Tokyo job?"

Mamoru watched as Usagi picked at the table cloth in front of her, a careful mask of disinterest on her face. He saw right through it of course, he was the master of masks, but the fact that she was trying so hard to hide how much it meant to her caused his heart to flutter. As if, after that mind-blowing kiss, and the knowledge it brought concerning her feelings for him, he would want to be anywhere else?

"I won't know until tomorrow if I've actually got the job, though I'm feeling pretty optimistic. And I mean, it is the job I wanted, so while staying in Kyoto might be easier in some ways, I think what I really want is…to come home."

Usagi's resulting beam left him a bit breathless and made his whole body ridiculously warm. Because there it was, all that she made him feel summed up in one little word –  _home_. The image it conjured up, the feeling it inspired looking at this amazing, beautiful woman in front of him, made his chest cavity feel like it was about to split open. Usagi. Usako. He couldn't remember ever feeling like this before in his life.

Luckily, he was saved from trying to stutter out another word by the arrival of their food.

Usagi had ordered a heaping pile of French Toast and, after much deliberation, Mamoru had settled on the poached eggs. She had seemed a bit disappointed at that – God knows why – but she certainly seemed to be happy with her choice, digging in with relish before Mamoru was even able to unwrap his silverware.

"Good?" Mamoru asked with a grin. Her answering blissful moan caused his grin to falter and his heartrate to speed up in a different way, but he fought it down. They had amazing chemistry, yes, but this was  _Usagi_. They should take this slow – have a good talk and get to know each other again. That was probably what she wanted.

But if she kept licking her lips like that after every bite he was going to have a hard time holding up his end of the conversation…

* * *

 

Usagi wondered if the people walking by them on the street could feel something different in the air as they passed, wondered if they could recognize how momentous this occasion was. She, Tsukino Usagi, was eating brunch across from Chiba Mamoru and she was so happy she couldn't believe she was still sitting down.

Of course, standing up would mean that Mamoru's knees wouldn't touch hers under the table anymore and she was finding that quite delightful in itself. So this wasn't quite the picture she'd imagined when she'd first caught sight of him this morning – he'd had to abandon his newspaper and coffee inside and hadn't ordered another, and he'd chosen the poached eggs instead of the omelet (a rookie mistake) – but she wouldn't trade this reality for anything.

Because he liked her. He  _liked_  her. Chiba Mamoru liked  _her_ , Tsukino Usagi! She couldn't wait to tell the girls and their a-ha's and I-told-you-so's wouldn't even bother her now, not when it meant she could have  _this_.

Mamoru was pretty confident he would get the Tokyo job and announced that he was ready to move back to Tokyo as soon as he could. He'd even said that in the meantime he planned to visit and she hadn't even needed him to specify who because his eyes had told her and her heart had known –  _Me! He's going to come back to visit me!_ They could go on dates and she could show him around Tokyo again.  _Screw you brunette-fair-girl,_ I'm _going to give Mamo-chan the tour!_

She wouldn't have to hide her attraction or push down her feelings because they were returned! They could go out to eat, hold hands; she wouldn't have to watch him with anyone else because he'd be with  _her_. They could kiss – damn, but she couldn't wait to feel his lips and hands on her again – and maybe even more…

She tried not to let her imagination stray too far in that direction yet. Mamoru would be leaving today and she didn't want to take up all his time trying to grope him, even if the thought was extremely appealing. He probably had lots of fancy, important things he needed to do before leaving town. The idea that she could daydream about him freely now, without feeling guilty and confused, would have to be enough to hold her over until they actually had time to, as Mina would say, knock boots in the hay.

Though she couldn't help but gleefully notice how often his eyes strayed to her lips while they ate. Maybe she wasn't the only one with an active imagination…

"So you  _were_  flirting with me in the arcade!" Usagi announced, triumphantly, as their conversation turned toward their antics this past weekend.

Mamoru grinned sheepishly, "I guess I was. I just didn't know how to act around you! You always make me feel so…out of control."

"Ditto on that last statement," Usagi snorted, "But honestly, Minako said you flirt like a thirteen-year-old boy. I'm surprised you hadn't resorted to tugging on my hair."

"Well I don't know about that," Mamoru sniffed pointedly, "Without your odangos you don't have any pigtails to pull."

"And yet, you keep calling me that awful nickname!"

"What, you mean  _Odango_?" Mamoru drawled, smirking.

Usagi glared, trying to suppress the shiver his voice incited, but when his smirk only grew she knew she had been had. Time for a quick recovery: "Yes! That nickname is completely irrelevant now and just sounds ridiculous."

"I don't know, I kind of like it."

Usagi continued to glare at him, "It sounds so childish!"

"I know you're not a child, Usagi," Mamoru's smirk turned positively devilish, "trust me."

She raised her eyebrows at that and then felt a smirk of her own form. "That's right! You were practically drooling over me at the club." Usagi felt herself perk up a bit as his face showed her she had gained the upper hand in their teasing. The idea that she and Mamoru might be able to retain elements of their old relationship while moving into this new one was strangely relieving.

"Well I hardly think that says anything about  _me_ ," Mamoru grumbled, "any heterosexual man with eyes was drooling too."

Usagi shrugged, still a bit uncomfortable with the events of that night and the disconnect she continued to feel between the image she had presented then and the image she presented normally. Mamoru clearly found her attractive without all that effort, but still, it rankled a bit that she had felt so much more confident approaching him then. Why couldn't she feel like that all the time? Why couldn't she be flirty and forward and sexy? Maybe she could. Maybe she was! Ugh, she needed another Mina pep talk.

"Oh please," she said, eager to push her discomfort away, "You know most of the women there were panting at the thought of dancing with you and then taking you home. If you hadn't been so annoying to me all week I probably would have jumped you myself."

She raised a finger in mock solemnity, "Minako always makes sure we're prepared in case the mood strikes." She grinned to herself in remembrance of her friend's extremely long and explicit lecture on one night stands a couple years ago. Ami had blushed for two days straight afterwards!

When she was met by silence, however, she realized Mamoru was staring at her with wide eyes. What? Did she have something on her face?

An instant later, however, he was looking away, waving his hand sharply as if to signal someone through the window.

Usagi watched him, confused. "What?"

After a moment, Usagi saw one of the waitresses nod toward Mamoru and realized he had been asking for their check.

She looked back down at their plates. Mamoru still had half his breakfast left and she hadn't quite finished yet either.

"But I'm not done eating?"

When she looked back up it was to find Mamoru watching her appraisingly, "I've seen you eat more food than that in less time, Odango."

She felt her mouth fall open a bit as he turned in his seat again to glare into the restaurant impatiently.

"But, Mamoru – "

She cut off when he leaned forward again, his eyes dark and his brow quirked in that way that always made her heart skip a beat. "Usa, I have my hotel room for another – " he paused to glance down at his watch " – four hours."

She felt her brows furrow in confusion and then the telltale heat of a blush suffusing her skin. Her lips fell into a small 'o' as his meaning sunk in. She watched a smirk form on his face, his gaze no less intense, and felt her stomach flip, heat shooting down between her legs as he leaned even closer, his deep voice practically purring, "Eat your food, Usako."

She'd never eaten so fast in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe ;)


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What follows is a relatively explicit sex scene. I'll have one more chapter after this one, if a wedding is more your speed ;)

The walk to Mamoru's hotel helped get his blood moving enough that some of it traveled back up to his brain and by the time they were entering the lobby he began to feel nervous.

It wasn't performance anxiety, per se, but the sudden realization that he was taking Usagi up to his hotel room. This wasn't some girl he'd met at a bar where both of them had telegraphed their intentions very clearly from the beginning. This was Usagi – someone he wanted to have an actual, lasting relationship with. He couldn't screw this up.

They stepped into the elevator and he pressed the button for his floor, trying to calm his heart rate down as they began to move up. When he glanced over at Usagi, she was bouncing lightly on her toes, nibbling on a piece of her hair. When she noticed him watching her she grinned broadly, "The girls will absolutely  _die_  when they hear where I spent this afternoon."

Mamoru chuckled and felt some of his nerves drain away. This was Usagi, yes, but that was part of why he  _shouldn't_  feel nervous. He would show her the room and then they would see what happened from there. Just being around her was already making this the best day of his life.

Usagi bounded into the room as soon as he let her in and then stopped dead in her tracks.

Mamoru came forward, concerned that something was wrong, only to have her round on him with an awestruck expression. "You have a pent house  _suite_?! Who even are you?"

Mamoru felt his chest puff out a bit at that. It  _was_  a nice room, wasn't it? "A very important person."

Usagi snorted, quickly deflating his ego, but bringing a smile to his face as he shut the door behind them.

When he turned back around she was gone, but quickly alerted him to her location when her voice echoed from the bathroom. "Your bathtub is a hot tub! Oh my  _god_!"

After pressing her face into some of his unused towels and declaring them "soft as baby clouds," Usagi tried out all the furniture in the suite before declaring the armchair closest to the bathroom to be the most comfortable. They then spent a good twenty minutes pointing out locations they knew from the view afforded by the floor to ceiling windows and, afterwards, Usagi opened all the cupboards in the small kitchen and pouted when she found nothing in any of them. She quickly rallied, however, when he offered her the remaining chocolate from the minibar.

Finally, she collapsed onto the large bed with a sigh. "These pillows are like ginormous marshmallows!"

Mamoru chuckled and perched on the bed beside her. "Please don't eat them. I'm sure I could scrounge up some more chocolate if you're finding it hard to control your appetite."

Usagi lifted her head up enough to stick her tongue at him, but then her eyes widened as they landed behind him.

When he turned, though, all he saw was the normal hotel bedside table, outfitted with an alarm clock, light, and phone.

"Have you ever ordered room service before?" Usagi had tucked one of the pillows under her chin and was gazing up at him with curiosity.

He nodded, a bit puzzled. "Sometimes if I have a lot of work to do on a business trip, and don't have time to go get food, I've ordered from the hotel menu before. I didn't do it on this trip, though. Why?"

Usagi twiddled her thumbs adorably and looked up at him from under her lashes. "Umm…"

Mamoru felt a smile creep across his face as he picked up on what Usagi was not so subtly hinting at. "Did you want to order something?"

Her face positively lit up at that and after a couple minutes pouring over the options – "There are just so many!" Usagi squealed – they settled on two slices of chocolate cake.

Five minutes later, during which Usagi had entertained herself by forcing Mamoru to do a dramatic reading of the hotel brochure with her, a knock at his door announced the arrival of their dessert.

Usagi skipped to the door with Mamoru padding behind her.

"Thank you so much!" she gushed to the man as he handed over a platter with their cakes.

Mamoru smiled at her enthusiasm and tipped him as Usagi carried their food back to the bedroom. They ate on the floor, propped up against the bed, and Mamoru laughed over Usagi's cooed exultations as she took her first bite.

She showed such wonder for everything, it made Mamoru look at the world with new eyes. He had found the room nice, yes, but hadn't realized how much fun one could actually have in it. If she made him feel this light and carefree in one afternoon, what would it be like to see her every day?

He wanted to take her on a trip to the beach and splash her in the water before they built a sandcastle together. He wanted to take her on a picnic in the park and point out shapes in the clouds. He wanted to build a snowman with her in the winter and jump in the leaves with her in the fall. He wanted to do so many things with her that he had never really taken the time to do before, had never even understood the point of, if he was honest. But now? Now, he wanted to sit with her anywhere and just watch time pass them by.

As she savored her last bite with her eyes closed, humming in appreciation, he felt the heat rise in him again, the desire to hold her closer than anyone else could in this moment. The need to feel her heart beat against his own.

Usagi represented something so deeply precious that he had never really found, or let himself find, before. He wanted to give her the entire world, all of himself that he knew how to give, if it would make her happy, but also because he knew that she would treat it well.

With a soft smile, Mamoru leaned forward and brushed his thumb across her lips, rubbing away a small smear of chocolate.

Usagi opened her eyes in surprise and Mamoru watched in fascination as her pupils dilated slightly at his proximity. He could only imagine what his own looked like.

They stayed locked like that for a moment, his hand on her cheek, her lips still slightly open in shock and then whether he leaned down or she pushed herself up their lips met with a mutual sigh.

* * *

 

Mamoru's hands were hot on her skin yet her flesh was covered in goosebumps as he sucked, licked, and sighed his way down her neck. Usagi had known she was sensitive there before, but the way Mamoru alternated between the warm suck of his lips, the wet dart of his tongue, and the soft brush of his breath had her practically writhing beneath him.

They had both lost their shirts sometime in the move to the bed and she couldn't stop her hands from running up and down his back, tracing the muscles she had seen outlined there before.

"God, the sounds you're making are driving me insane," Mamoru murmured against the skin behind her ear after his sucking on her earlobe had prompted her to gasp.

Usagi laughed breathlessly, "Well you've only yourself to blame. I wouldn't be making all this noise if you weren't – " she stopped with a gasp as one of his hands brushed her nipple through the fabric of her bra "God, if you weren't making me feel so g-good."

Mamoru propped himself up a bit at that, to stare down at her with the most sinful smile she had ever seen. "Oh, you like this do you?"

Usagi wanted to glare and spit and smack that cocky look right off his face, but she also wanted that face back where it had been only moments before. So she tried for a sultry smile of her own, reaching one hand up to trace his bicep where it bulged to keep him perched above her. "I mean it's alright, all things considered."

Mamoru laughed and dipped down to suck on her bottom lip, murmuring into her mouth, "Alright, huh? Sounds like I have something to prove."

Usagi nodded quickly, threading her fingers into his hair to tug him closer. "But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now."

Mamoru's chuckles disappeared into her mouth and then transformed into a groan as she wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed herself against him more firmly.

Then his lips were dipping back down her neck and traveling further until he was lapping at the edge of her bra.

"Mind if I…?" He glanced back up to check, but Usagi was already bowing her back to give him access. After a little fumbling, her bra was off and flung to the side and his lips was slipping back down to kiss the skin between her breasts.

Usagi couldn't help but push her head further back into the pillow as Mamoru moved his mouth across the mound of her breast to her nipple, suckling and nipping lightly until it was hard and aching. Only then did he kiss his way to the other, his fingers rubbing and pressing to keep her cooling breast warm.

Usagi hummed and gasped, alternately arching up closer to his mouth and sinking back down into the cool sheets beneath her. Sometimes Mamoru peeked up at her through his lashes as he worked his mouth across her skin and sometimes his lashes brushed his cheeks as if in reverence at the thought of his lips around her. Seeing his hands running along her sides like this, his nose brushing her skin, his eyes dark and attentive to her every twitch, her every sigh, Usagi felt sexy in a way she never had before.

It made her ache. It made her bold.

With a soft tug on his hair, Usagi guided Mamoru's mouth back to hers and then pushed at his shoulder to show him what she wanted. He obediently rolled over and it was Usagi's turn to smile down at him as she settled herself above his hips.

Mamoru's eyes wandered across her body greedily before meeting hers with a glint. "Best view in Tokyo, right here."

Usagi snorted, "I'll make sure to send you a postcard when you're gone."

Mamoru's "please do" was quickly swallowed by his own soft groans as Usagi dragged her lips down his neck and across his collarbone, worshipping his skin as he had done for her, trying to figure out what combination worked best for him.

At first, his hands wandered up and down her sides, across her back, into her hair to gently massage her scalp or to one breast to tease at her nipple. Eventually, though, they settled on her hips and began gently pressing her down to meet his soft thrusts up.

When she rocked her hips harder against him, his fingers tightened around her and a groan rumbled through his chest.

Usagi looked up from her exploration of his chest to find him watching her through lidded eyes.

Feeling heady from his gaze, she leaned back until she was again perched directly over his hips and the hard outline of his cock, and then began to unbutton her jeans.

She watched his eyes widen slightly, his tongue darting out to lick his lips, and as she slipped down her zipper he pushed himself up to meet her. His arms tightened around her torso, and he tilted them back down until she was flat enough that he could help strip her jeans down her legs. Her underwear quickly followed and then he was wriggling out of his dress pants and peeling his briefs down his thighs.

Usagi felt more than heard herself moan as she caught a glimpse of his cock, hanging heavy and dark as he crawled back towards her across the sheets. When he reached her, she immediately reached out to wrap her fingers around it – reveling in the way his mouth fell open and his arms shook at her touch.

He quickly settled himself beside her to allow her better access as she began to steadily stroke up and down, her fingers dancing around the tip to gather and spread his precum, thumb digging slightly into the slit before returning to trace the vein down to its base.

She reveled in the way Mamoru's breath caught in his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed loudly, his eyes squeezed shut tight. She had often wondered what he would look like overcome by pleasure, imagined it – head thrown back, brows furrowed, mouth slack. She had imagined being the one to do it. But this? This was the most arousing thing she had seen in her life.

And then he opened his eyes and she had to amend her previous statement. His pupils were blown, his gaze dark and sharp with desire. She felt her own mouth fall open in response, a soft moan escaping her lips.

When he leaned forward to kiss her, she felt her hand stutter, and he seemed to use it as an opportunity to shift his position, settling himself more firmly over her, his chest hot against her breasts, his cock stiff against her thigh.

"Usako," he murmured, barely slowing down his kisses. She hummed into his mouth and hitched her right leg around his hip, smiling at his resulting moan.

"Yes, Mamo-chan?" she murmured back.

Immediately his lips were gone and she felt cool air on her chest. When she opened her eyes it was to find him hovering over her, looking a little shocked. "Mamo-chan?"

One of his eyebrows quirked slightly and Usagi, ridiculously, found herself blushing. "Yeees?"

His resulting beam, however, made her heart stutter and before she could quite collect herself, his lips were back on hers, greedy and eager.

After thoroughly ravishing her mouth, he pressed kisses across her jaw and up to her ear. "Usa, can I – can I put my mouth on you?"

Usagi's fingers instinctively tightened against his skin, her sex fluttering in response.  _Yes,_ she wanted to scream,  _yes!_ Her tongue, however, didn't seem to want to connect to her brain, but she managed to nod and let out a shaky, "Uh-huh."

Nuzzling below her ear in response, Mamoru then began his slow and agonizing trip down her body – stopping first to melt her back into the sheets with his attention to her neck, then spending some time reacquainting himself with her breasts, before finally kissing past her bellybutton. When he got to the line of her pubic hair, however, he moved to the side and began kissing down her thigh. She wanted to groan in complaint, but the gentle strokes of his fingers across her skin, the soft pressure of his lips and tongue, were the best kind of agony.

When he switched to the other side, he incidentally pressed her legs wider apart and the cool air caused her to realize for the first time how wet she was. When his tongue reached the crease in her skin between her thigh and groin, Mamoru wrapped his hands around her legs and pushed them apart even further, levering himself to fit comfortably between them.

"Fuck," she heard him mutter. She could practically feel his gaze on her and it caused the heat pooling in her groin to briefly spike.

"Usa," he crooned, and she felt one finger brush along the line of her hair outside her vulva, "you're dripping."

She bit her lip to bite back a moan, but couldn't stop her legs from twitching violently when his finger dipped inside to trace her folds.

His touch was steady, but maddening – softly moving around the edge of her vagina before sliding back up to caress her clit. Her hands quickly moved up to grip the sheets above her head and she hoped her breathy moans were enough to tell Mamoru that he was doing well. She didn't think she could get a single coherent word out right now if her life depended on it.

Just as she'd begun to settle into this gentle torture, her eyes falling closed, he licked her.

Again, Usagi's legs jumped around him and one of her hands fell down to grip his hair tightly in her fist. When she pried her eyes open, it was to see him watching her intently, lips pursed just inches from her sex. Perhaps seeing the desire she knew must be shining from her eyes, his lips quirked slightly and then they were on her, wrapping themselves around her clit to suckle her until she saw stars, then parting to let his tongue dart out and taste her.

She knew she was making noises – grunts, moans, gasps, and sighs – knew her fingers were still tangled in his hair, her other hand firmly gripping the bedsheets, but all she could think about was the pleasure.

When he finally slid a finger inside her, she immediately felt herself clench around him, mouth slack, body shaking as she climaxed.

She came back to herself to feel his finger slip free, his mouth retreating as he leaned back up, running his hand across his face to wipe away the mix of cum and spit that had accumulated around his mouth and chin.

She was hot and cold all at once, goosebumps exploding on her skin, which suddenly felt sensitive everywhere. He hovered over her briefly, his gaze a bit uncertain, until she opened her arms and mumbled something that might have been "C'mere" but she honestly wasn't even sure at the moment.

He sunk into her arms, his lips soft against her temple, her cheek, and then her lips, and she opened them wordlessly, her entire body feeling languid and loose in a way she wanted to revel in and share.

"Mmmmmmamo-chan."

Mamoru chuckled, pushing back enough to pepper her face with kisses. "Yes, Usako?"

"That was amaaaaazing!"

He laughed openly that time, his head thrown back just enough that she could see down the line of his body where it fit over hers. His chest was warm and hard against her breasts, his hipbones sharp where they pressed into her skin, his thighs rough with hair, but firm and wide in a way that made her feel a bit dizzy. And she could feel his cock again, pressed hard and hot inside her hip.

She recalled the feeling of his finger just before she came, slipping easily inside her, and suddenly ached for more.

"Mamo-chan?"

He looked back down at her and his smile was so warm she felt like her whole body was glowing.

"Do you remember where I put my purse?"

She delighted in the way his brows pulled down in confusion, his head tilting to one side like a puppy. "I think so?"

She smiled radiantly back at him, watching his lips pull up almost against his will in response. "Good!" she practically cooed, "Well the condoms I have are in the small zipper pocket in the middle section."

She felt his cock twitch against her leg, even as his face continued to look lost. The moment his brain caught up with the rest of his body, however, he was scrambling off of her with a hurried, "I'll be right back!"

She shamelessly watched his butt as he scampered out of the room and muffled her giggles in her hand when he yelped in pain, most likely having run into something in the other room.

He was back almost immediately, purse clutched in his hands, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Got it!"

Usagi did giggle then and snatched it from his hands. "Well we don't need the whole thing," she said, quickly finding the item she needed and throwing the now useless accessory off to the side.

Mamoru kissed sloppily down her neck as she fumbled the condom out of its wrapper and obediently laid down when she pushed on his stomach. A few strokes had him ready to go and then he was groaning as she rolled it down his length.

She thought he might protest when she immediately straddled him, but one hand simply went to her waist while the other helped to guide his tip to her entrance.

They moaned in unison, then, as she slowly pushed down, allowing herself to adjust to his size inch by inch. When he was fully inside her, she gave herself another moment before slightly lifting off him and sinking back down. His eyes were hooded and dark, but never strayed from hers as she continued to push herself up and down until he was sliding easily within her.

Finally, she nodded, and she felt him begin to push his hips up slightly to meet her. Soon enough, they established a rhythm, and the sound of their panting and the slapping of their flesh filled the room in the most gloriously obscene way.

Leaning her weight unto her hands on either side of his head, she leaned down to capture his lips in hers, moaning loudly when the angle allowed him to guide her hips down as he thrust sharply up. His fingers were tight on her ass and she could feel her breasts bouncing from the motion, her nipples tight as they skimmed his chest.

"Fuck, Mamoru, that feels so good."

His teeth skimmed her neck in response, nipping at her skin and leaving burning marks like those his fingernails were digging into her skin.

"You're good, Usa. You're  _so_  good."

When it seemed like Mamoru's hips were tiring a bit, Usagi leaned back up, bracing herself against his chest so she could bounce up and down on his cock. She watched his gaze as it unabashedly wandered her body, saw it stop on her breasts as they rocked with the motion, then move down to where their bodies connected. He licked his lips and she groaned in gratitude as his fingers snaked forward to rub her clit. Her motion stuttered, but he didn't seem to mind as she mindlessly moved against him, chasing her own pleasure.

Soon enough, she climaxed again, shuttering around him for the second time that day. She almost fell forward, but he was quick to sit up, his arms around her as she slumped against him.

"That was amazing, Usa," he murmured, lips against the shell of her ear, "God, you're so beautiful when you cum like that. You feel incredible. Fuck, Usako, you're so good."

At his words, she felt a shiver run through her body, her walls fluttering around his cock and he clearly felt it too because he flipped them over, laying Usagi down on her back and pressing her legs up around his hips.

"You're amazing, Usagi, you know that?" He hummed into her neck and she arched into him, already so close, her clit sensitive where his skin rubbed against her. "You feel so fucking good."

Her arms were wrapped around his neck, her heels digging into his back as he rocked into her, slow at first and then faster and faster. She pressed her face into his shoulder, her breathing ragged as she felt herself teetering on the edge again, clinging to him as he pushed her closer and closer to the brink.

"M-mamoru, I-I'm going to – "

"Me too. Usako – "

She felt him stiffen against her just as her own body clenched again, a strangled sound jumping from her throat. After a moment, his body softened against her and she drew in a ragged breath.

They untangled themselves from each other slowly and then he was easing out of her. She cursed softly as he pulled out, but smiled and shook her head when he looked up at her worried.

"I'm fine," she heard herself croak out, "just sensitive."

He looked relieved at that, tying off the condom and setting it aside, then pushing himself eagerly back onto the bed so he could gather her into his side.

His heartbeat was soothing under her ear, his arms tight around her, and she felt herself drifting a bit as her body relaxed.

This was nice. She could definitely get used to it. His body was very warm and large enough that she felt completely surrounded, and his breathing was so soothing – in and out, in and out…

A loud beeping had her nearly jumping out of her skin and her skull collided not so gently with Mamoru's chin as they pushed themselves up.

"Ow!" "Sorry!" "What the – " "My phone!" "Well get it!" "I'm trying!"

After wrestling his phone from the pocket of his pants on the floor, Mamoru was able to turn his alarm off, but when he looked up, Usagi could tell they couldn't go back to cuddling.

"What is it?" she asked, seeing the disappointment on his face.

"It's the alarm I set to make sure I check out of the hotel and head to the airport."

"Oh."

She must not have been very good at hiding her emotions, because he immediately dropped his pants and perched in front of her on the bed, cradling her face in his hands and kissing her softly before pulling back to hold her gaze.

"I know, I don't want to leave either, but just think – I'll be back soon and permanently! And then I can take you out to eat and to the park and we can go dancing and-and…"

Usagi pursed her lips, "And do this?"

Mamoru smirked, "And  _definitely_  do this."

Usagi smiled and he leaned forward to peck her on the lips again.

"And in the meantime, we'll talk all the time!" She nodded and allowed herself to be buoyed by the optimism she never let disappear completely. Besides, now that they knew they liked each other, how hard could this really be?

"Oh, that actually reminds me…"

Usagi watched as Mamoru grinned sheepishly, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

"Can I have your number?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da! A nice, long sex scene just for you guys! I hope this helps make up for my odd updating schedule… Whew. Okay, just the epilogue after this!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this fic is finally done! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this fic and my weird updating schedule... You are all amazing, wonderful people! This story is only here because of you.

"Pass the syrup, please."

Mamoru watched in amusement as his girlfriend of 9 months, 6 days, and 23ish hours poured even  _more_  syrup over her already soaked pancakes and shoveled another forkful into her mouth, chewing contentedly across from him at the table of his apartment in Tokyo.

The 'ish' was only because Usagi and Mamoru disagreed about when  _exactly_  they'd started dating. Mamoru believed it was the moment they began making out in a very public brunch spot, but Usagi insisted it didn't count until he'd labeled their status to a very loud and noisy Minako who had called him practically squealing later that night. It was still in the same day, though, so fortunately he didn't have to worry about any arguments over their anniversary.

"I've always wondered how you've managed to stay so thin, eating the way you do."

Usagi glared at him, though she only looked like an adorable chipmunk, meaning completely non-threatening. Knowing she wouldn't care for that comparison, he swallowed his chuckles and settled for his trademark smirk, the one he now knew both drove her insane and also, if the mood was right, made her incredibly aroused. It was a nice trick to have up his sleeve.

Today, however, she simply swallowed and responded primly, "I get my exercise."

He couldn't stop his eyebrow from raising even if he wanted to. And he didn't. "Mmm, like last night?"

He watched with satisfaction as a blush stole over her face. Usagi wasn't shy in the bedroom and she could render him into an incoherent puddle faster than the other way around, but she still always blushed when he was sexually suggestive. He loved it.

Seeming unable to come up with a response, Usagi stuck her tongue out at him childishly, though from the way she swallowed immediately after, he could tell she knew it hadn't had the effect she wanted.

They were interrupted, unfortunately, by her phone ringing.

She glanced at it, "It's work."

"It's morning. And a Saturday."

She rolled her eyes at him. "As if you're one to talk."

"I'm in a new position!"

"Well it's from the office we're working with in New York so this is really the only time I can take it anyway."

And with that she opened her phone and answered. In English. She was talking in English. Usagi. Usagi was talking in English. To someone else. They were conversing. In English.

He still hadn't picked his jaw off the ground by the time she hung up and she looked at him confused.

"What?"

"You can speak English?!"

Usagi stood up, her plate miraculously clean before her, and put her hands on her hips. "Yes, I can.  _Surprised?_ "

Mamoru leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Impressed."

She rolled her eyes again.

"And a bit turned on," he added, grinning as she sniffed and began collecting her dishes to bring into the kitchen.

"Well unfortunately we don't have time to indulge any of your other weird kinks this morning – "

"Hey!"

" – or we'll be late to your  _best friend_ 's wedding!"

Mamoru glared after Usagi before angrily picking up his own dishes and stalking toward the kitchen. "I request one  _teensy_  thing in the bedroom and now I'm labeled as a hentai forever…"

* * *

 

Usagi watched giddily as Motoki dipped Reika on the dance floor, their first dance almost over.

They had been married this morning in the temple near Reika's home and Usagi still couldn't believe she'd been allowed to be there. Reika was an only child and had asked Usagi to accompany her and her parents. Mamoru had come too, standing as a witness with Motoki's larger family as the couple completed the marriage ritual.

Now, she stood on the edge of the dance floor Makoto had created inside her restaurant for the reception.

While their wedding ceremony itself had been traditional, Reika had insisted that their reception contain elements of the Western tradition, having witnessed a number of weddings during her time spent abroad in England. Usagi, Unazuki, and Rei were thereby acting as her bridesmaids – though the only thing this really involved was wearing cute matching dresses – while Motoki had asked Mamoru, another friend from college, Natsuo, and Reika's cousin, Jei, to be his groomsmen. There had already been speeches given by herself and Mamoru (Motoki's best man), cake shoved in each other's faces, and a fun game involving shoes, and now the dance floor was officially open! Usagi was pretty sure she hadn't stopped smiling all day.

Feeling a slight pressure on her back, Usagi turned to find Mamoru sliding up next to her holding two flutes of champagne.

"Find any men you want to take home with you? That is the whole point of attending a wedding as a bridesmaid, isn't it?" He asked, handing her one of the glasses.

Usagi laughed, "I'd say you've watched too many movies, except I'm pretty sure I made you watch all of them and will, most definitely, continue to do so."

Mamoru chuckled and clinked his glass against her own. "That's true."

After taking a sip, she glanced around the room. "However, I will say that Motoki has some pretty attractive friends."

He grinned at her. "Any in particular catching your eye?'

"Well, all of his groomsmen are pretty dashing."

"Including the best man?"

Usagi shrugged at him with smirk, but then pushed herself onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, "Especially the best man. That is why he's the best of men, after all."

Mamoru snorted into his glass and tucked his arm around her waist. "I'll take it. But what about the others? I don't know if I can say you really have a chance."

Following Mamoru's nod, Usagi couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled up through her chest as she caught sight of Rei glaring down a glass of wine that Jei was trying to offer her. "Wouldn't they be adorable? He hasn't been able to stay away from her all day!"

"Yes, but she looks like she's one more dance request away from punching him."

Usagi giggled again, "True, but that's just how Rei is. She doesn't like to put her time and effort into something that isn't going to pan out and she can be rather picky. Honestly, though, if she really didn't want him around her, he wouldn't still be here. I think she might actually like him."

Mamoru looked down at her in surprise, "Really?"

Usagi nodded, noticing with glee that while Rei had put her back to Jei in order to engage an older woman in conversation, she was now holding the wine he had offered her. "Just wait, I bet he'll get her on the dance floor by the end of the night."

Mamoru hummed in interest at that idea, but then pivoted them slightly to where the food was laid out on the far wall. "And what about Natsuo?"

Usagi beamed, "Well he's definitely off-limits now."

Makoto, while technically a guest, had not been convinced to leave the reception up to her staff members, and had been helping to bring out food and organize the space since they started. She was now, however, deep in conversation with Motoki's other groomsman, Natsuo, who Usagi had heard complimenting the food earlier. Even better, he seemed to actually know what he was talking about. Where Usagi used words like "yummy" and "delicious," Natsuo had pulled out the big guns, discussing texture, flavor palates, and composition. Usagi was pretty sure she had actually witnessed Makoto finding her soulmate.

Mamoru nodded, "Looks like you may be out of luck then."

Usagi sighed dramatically, "It's true. Besides those two, the only passable men here are with Mina and Ami-chan."

Ami had brought along her boyfriend of four months, Zakiasu, who was one of her fellow doctors. They were currently seated on one of the many tables positioned around the edge of the dance floor, heads bent close in conversation. Zakiasu was very similar to Ami – reserved and kind, but playful once he felt comfortable with you. Usagi was delighted to see that they seemed just as smitten with each other as ever.

Minako, on the other hand, was currently dancing rather scandalously against her own date, one of Mamoru's coworkers, Kunimatsu. After Mamoru had officially been offered the CEO position in Tokyo, Minako had insisted they go on the bank's website to see what kind of environment Mamoru would be in – "We are who we meet, Usagi-chan! If he's going to be surrounded by a bunch of crochety old men, you should know." It turned out, however, that there were very few old men working at the Tokyo branch. In fact, there had been quite a few young people, and quite a few handsome young men. Upon seeing Kunimatsu's picture, Minako had uttered a very eloquent "fuck yes" and then proceeded to call Mamoru to stake dibs.

While Mamoru had refused pointblank to help Minako in her "man-catching" scheme, after having lunch with him (they got along surprisingly well) he had offered up the information that Kunimatsu was single and Mina had somehow managed to orchestrate a meeting that led to drinks, dinner, and a string of dates. While they weren't currently official, Mina had plans to change that soon. As she had put it, "We're almost at the point where I've wormed my way into so many aspects of his life, he won't remember how he lived without me."

Kunimatsu's normally stoic demeanor never really stood a chance around Minako, and while to many onlookers he might have seemed pretty detached from the action around him, Usagi was fairly certain he was smiling, and he seemed only too happy to keep Mina exactly where she was.

Mamoru chuckled into her ear, "I guess you're stuck with me then, love."

Turning in his arms so she could look up into his eyes, Usagi smiled, "I guess so."

* * *

 

"So how does it feel to be a married man?"

Mamoru and Motoki were collapsed on some chairs near the edge of the room, both needing a break from dancing and the general excitement of the reception.

"Honestly?" Motoki asked, the same goofy smile on his face he'd been sporting all day, "It feels pretty damn good."

Mamoru clapped his friend on the shoulder and watched as Motoki's eyes eagerly sought out his new bride. Reika was dancing with Rei and Minako and she did indeed look stunning. Mamoru's eyes, however, slid quickly over her to find Usagi, who was nearby, twirling a couple of Motoki's younger cousins who Reika had dubbed their flower girls.

Mamoru felt his heart soften at the sight.

"Have you, uh, been thinking about, you know, moving forward with Usagi?"

Mamoru turned his gaze back to his friend and fought back a grin at Motoki's attempt at subtlety. Matching his tone, Mamoru leaned back and shrugged nonchalantly, "I have plans."

Motoki's eyebrows hit his hairline and his smile grew even more. "Really?"

With a small grin, Mamoru nodded, "Really."

And he did. He had decided waiting until their one-year anniversary felt like long enough. He wasn't planning on telling anyone, but he'd had a ring picked out after dating Usagi for only three months.

Motoki looked like he wanted to ask more, but then the DJ interrupted the music to announce that it was time for the bouquet toss.

Seeming to realize he could grill his best friend later, Motoki motioned with his head and they wandered over to edge of the dance floor to watch the proceedings.

Many of the young women and a few of the men were currently jostling each other to get into the best position as Reika stood looking over her shoulder from her place in front of the main table. Mamoru saw Usagi determinedly planting herself near the edge and winced. He felt bad for the people who got in her way – he knew from experience just how sharp her elbows could be.

Somehow, though, Reika's toss went a little eschew. Mamoru watched with interest and then horror as Usagi threw herself to the side, managing to snatch the bouquet from the air almost perpendicular to the ground. Without much thought, Mamoru threw himself forward to brace her fall, pulling her into his arms just before they hit the ground.

A small, worried crowd quickly formed around them and Mamoru groaned softly as Usagi gingerly removed her elbow from his gut. "Sorry, Mamo-chan!"

When he opened his eyes, however, it was to see Minako looking down at them with a grin.

"Hey, Mamoru. I know what it means that Usagi caught the bouquet. But what exactly does it mean that you caught her?"

Mamoru let his eyes fall closed again with a grunt as Usagi fussed over him, trying to see what damage she'd done this time. Her hands were soft and she smelled like lavender.

What did it mean? It meant he was pretty goddamn lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it! I might write a little one-shot describing the kink I was imagining (it's really tame, just a funny joke I decided didn't work in the piece itself), but otherwise this story is done! HUZZAH! I hope it feels complete for all of you :) I know it was spaced out a lot…but I had so much fun working on this piece and you guys gave me such lovely feedback the whole time!  
> (Hopefully) obviously, I tried to pick names for the four guys that felt similar to the Heavenly Kings' names or the American versions people give them sometimes, since it felt weird to have four random guys named after gemstones… sorry if that was weird, but I wanted to hint at a nice future for everyone :)


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